


Night Rather Than Day

by MelodyofBrokenWings



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, M/M, hetalia AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-12-26 10:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 59,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18281189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyofBrokenWings/pseuds/MelodyofBrokenWings
Summary: 'Oh I wish you were here at night more than the day. So I can look pretty under the soft lights. Come here my baby. So no one will interfere. Come at night not during the day.' A romance that fails to take off because the girl is shackled to the past and the boy jumps at it too quickly. The consequences lead to a rough road of conflict, self berating, and bad timing. PruXFem!Can**Chapter names and lyrics are from songs on the OST from the KDrama Goblin**This story is also on FF and Deviantart.





	1. Round and Round and Stuck In Love

**\- Introduction -**

_**Round and Round** _

_The world in your eyes_

_Forever is lie_

_As we go on our way_

_There is a thousand things to know_

_Sometimes we're standing by_

_The things we never understand_

_As we go on our own way_

* * *

The weather around New York City left a solemn atmosphere around the bustling metropolis that never sleeps. It failed to let up even into the early morning, an hour before sunrise. The sound of police sirens and pounding rain could be heard throughout the streets, including all houses, businesses, and a particular apartment complex.

The building's tiny compared to its neighbors. It has a rusty red exterior tucked away into a corner where most people would not notice. They were decent and had spacious rooms but like every living area in New York, it was over priced.

In a one bedroom apartment a lamp was the only light illuminating the almost bare living room. No pictures decorated the walls, no spilled out junk mail across the coffee table, not a piece of clothing in sight, nothing. It appeared generic. Almost like a modeled apartment that was ready to be sold to an eager musician trying to make it big or a couple excited to move in together.

Footsteps were mute across the carpet. A woman walked towards the couch and bent down to pick up her purse and phone. She was dressed to go out, wearing a light brown rain coat and a dusty pink knee length dress which appeared almost an ominous color in the low lighting. The black flats she is going to wear were near the door next to a large black suitcase. A plane ticket laid on top of it with a passport.

Grabbing her belongings she picked up her pace. The taxi will be here any minute for her. Moving to the lamp she paused when her fingers pressed the switch. Her violet eyes moved back to the farthest room from her and the snoring made her heart clench. She peered down at her left hand where a diamond engagement ring rested. Almost reluctant she slid it off and walked to the kitchen counter, placing her commitment, her feelings, everything the two had next to a neatly written letter.

The long honey blonde hair girl stepped away before she had the opportunity to snatch it back. She had made her decision. She will not be a fool. She will not stay with him. Choking on a sob, she covered a mouth to muffle her pained cry. Don't wake him up. You have to go. Leave him behind.

He hurt her. Sneaking around with a woman she called a friend. Her only friend here in this large city. And she knew for months. She knew of his double life with her best friend. But she loved him, hoping he would stop this and commit to only her again. The woman wanted to scream at him. Call him out on his disloyalty. Punch him and scream, cry in hurt and frustration. Yet, the courage always went fleeting when he came home with his quirky smile after a day at work, kissing her and whispering comments and sweet nothings to her when she made him dinner. The times when they fought at two in the morning and he came back to hold her when she cried. The way they kissed made her love him even more. Every little thing made her quiver. He is her world. She loves him.

Because of him, she has to go.

She cannot harm him. The only way she can fight back is to leave him and run away. Marriage is sacred to her. A cheating boyfriend will be a cheating husband. Believing he is her one and only is futile. Louis loves Diana. Not her.

Did he ever love her? Why would he ever drop down on one knee and spill his false feelings out?

Quickly she moved to the lamp and turned it off. Pulling up the handle, she picked up her belongings and left the room in silence. The tears have already dried up when she walked down the hall towards the elevators.

_Dear Louis,_

_By the time you read this letter, I am already gone. I have known about you and Diana for about three to four months now. Yet, you still proposed to me last month. Did you want to make me a fool who stays with you even when you are not in love with me? Were the last three years full of lies? I hope they weren't._

_I love you, but I will move on and forget about you. Have a happy life with Diana. Good bye._

_Madeline_

* * *

**_-_ Chapter 1 -**

_**Stuck in Love** _

_There are too many shadows_

_of your love everywhere around me_

_Stuck stuck stuck in love_

_Mysterious light_

_I'm still discovering_

_How can I get over you_

_Why do we have to be apart_

* * *

A phone started to ring through out a small studio apartment. The sun shone through the blinds as a woman tossed in her bed, groaning while she reached out to the loud contraption on her bedside table.

She pulled it underneath the large comforter and answered. "Hello?" she questioned with an exhausted tone.

"Good morning, Maddie!" exclaimed a voice from the speaker making her pull back with a jolt. It took her moment to register the voice and she finally responded.

"Good morning Al." She snuggled more into her pillow.

"How are you still asleep? You need to be up and enjoying your day!" Maddie smiled at his enthusiasm. He was an early bird for sure, but Maddie is a night owl. She went to bed around three in the morning. What time is it? She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and she wanted to groan more. Eight a.m. on the dot. Every day. Without fail, her older twin brother manages to wake her up.

"I didn't go to bed at six yesterday, like you do." Maddie pushed the comforter off and sat up on the queen size bed. She grabbed her glasses and slipped them on.

"Excuse me, I went to bed at ten. You over exaggerate." Her older brother Alfred huffed, "Are you doing anything fun today?"

"Not that I know of. Probably be lazy you know. It is a Saturday."

Al scoffed into the phone and it made her twitch slightly. "Come on, Maddie. You are twenty five today. You need to celebrate!" Maddie rose a brow and looked at her phone again and stared at the date hard. July 1st.

It took a moment to realize today is her birthday. Her twenty fifth birthday. But what's the point? She's going to spend it alone anyway.

"It's another day." Her feet touch the floor and she headed to the bathroom to take a shower and change clothes.

"What you need to do is go out. You stay in that cramped apartment with nothing to do except read those gross murder mystery novels and listen to sad, depressing music in other languages! Maddie! You need to have fun!"

"I don't have people to go out with." She sighed. Stepping onto the cold tile floor of the bathroom sent a shiver down her spine, she stepped on the rug and felt instant relief.

"Excuses, that's all I ever hear from you." He retorted.

"I'm not going out," she said with finality.

"Look, ever since you left that bastard back in New York, you haven't been yourself." Maddie froze as she reached for her toothbrush, eyes wide as she stared into the reflection in the mirror. Her honey long waist length hair was a curly mess, her bright violet eyes had turned dull over the past few years and her skin had become paler. The black bags under eyes and bruises from her clumsiness were so apparent that people might believe she has been abused. She looked straight out of thriller movie.

"Al…" she mumbled. Gripping the toothbrush she turned on the sink and rinsed it off.

The man on the other side of the line let out a long sigh. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up. It's just...it's true. Maddie, I am worried about you. It's been three years since you left him. I want you to be who you once were."

He's worried, she told herself and remained calm. Of course. Al's the only one who ever checks on her. When was the last time she even talked to her parents for more than five minutes? She lost count after the last year.

"Thank you. But I am fine."

"No you are no-" Suddenly the phone jostled on the other end and she heard a deep British accent in her ear.

"Madeline, dear, it's Arthur." Arthur Kirkland. He's been with her brother ever since high school. Their relationship was the scandal type, one straight out of a Japanese manga. Arthur was a student teacher and Al was a high school senior. No one knew about them until after graduation when Alfred landed a fat one on the teacher's lips in front of the school body. Maddie could remember clearly the sputtering mess the British man was and Alfred's stupid, proud grin. Plus the yelling awe struck and flabbergasted students and teachers did not help it one bit.

"Good morning to you, Arthur." She began brushing her teeth.

"Happy birthday," he started off and she couldn't help but smile at the simple statement.

"Thank you."

"I am sure your present from us arrived today. I would like for you to open it with us on the phone, is that alright, dear?" he said and she spit into the sink, rinsing off the brush and her mouth quickly after moving the phone away from the speaker so he wouldn't hear her.

She grabbed a face towel and wiped off the excess, then answered, "of course, let me go check." Maddie left the bathroom, grabbing her large fluffy pink robe off the hook and slipped it on as she walked through her carpeted apartment, heading down a small hallway to the living room and kitchen area. The only object separating the rooms is an island attached to the wall right in front of the tiled floor of the kitchen. There wasn't much since she lived alone. One couch, one side table, one book shelf, a laptop that mostly stayed on the coffee table and tons of papers and bills she still needed to sort and pay.

She unlocked her dead bolt and opened the door to be met with a mix breeze of hot and cold air, her eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight. The suburb she lived in was noisier than usual, but she was used to it. Coincidentally, she was born on the independence day of Canada. Festivities were starting early once again this year and as usual, she will stay at home and order Chinese take out and watch movies.

The mail had arrived early today and there was a medium size parcel sitting there with her regular mail conveniently placed on top. Her mail lady was so nice.

"I have it" She spoke into the phone in her hand, placed it in the crook of her neck and picked up her mail, going back inside.

"Your brother picked it out." Arthur said and she could hear the love and pride in his tone. Alfred is not the best at buying gifts for people. One time he bought a hair band t shirt for their dad, and he is bald and that is just one time in the past six years. Let's say Arthur and Maddie have been helping him from the time he could afford them.

This is a big deal if Arthur actually allowed for an Alfred gift to be sent all the way to Canada.

Maddie moved to the couch and tossed the mail with the rest, sitting the package on top of it and grabbed a stray pen, poking a hole in the tape and ripping it across. "You approved of it? It must be great."

"Considering who bought it, it's his best accomplishment yet." She chuckled when she heard whining in the background from her brother. Maddie balanced the phone once more and pulled apart the flaps on the box, boxing peanuts flying out and she groaned. What ever happened to bubble wrap? Peanuts are no fun. She dug her hands in and pulled out a heavy rectangular box. It was wrapped up in seafoam green and blue paper with a small envelope on top. "I'm surprised it's not red." She joked lightly, putting the delivery box to the side and pulled off the card, putting it to the side for later and unwrapped the present. What she saw left her speechless. Tossing the paper she stared at her present in wonder. It was a brand new laptop. She had been needing one for awhile, ever since her current laptop had been crashing and lost most of her documents and pictures.

"Do you like it?" She shook her head to snap her out of her senses.

"I love it" She said looking for the opening, noticing it had been opened already. "He even tested it out before sending it." She could not help but smile at her generous brother and brother-in-law.

"I wanted the best for my baby sister." Alfred spoke into the phone and she realized she was on speaker phone with them. "I put some pictures on there for you and my music library. I also downloaded a couple of writing programs and since I am the best brother ever, I have a second gift for you." Maddie rose a brow and he mentioned the card she left for later. She put the laptop down and reached for the card, opening it to see long message from the two men and a new picture of their tiny family. Alfred was hugging Arthur and kissing his cheek, the British man surprised at the sudden action and their cat Captain America (Captain for short) was at their feet looking up at them with bristled fur as in surprise as well. She smiled and she moved it to see a ticket. She stared at it and her eyes widened. It was a hockey ticket, for tonight's game! "I know you like the Montreal Canadiens so I decided to buy you a ticket! You better go, I am expecting posts on your Instapic, got it?" Alfred said and Maddie only shook her head, a small smile on her lips.

"Thank you Alfred, Arthur. I am going to go tonight. I promise." She smiled and the boys both said their birthday wishes again. After saying goodbye she ended the call and stood up. Laptop abandoned on the couch momentarily she moved to the kitchen and put the picture on her fridge along with the other photos she received from Alfred and Arthur. Some with her, some with other friends from America. Some with the couple on their wedding day at the courthouse, when they adopted Captain, Christmas in Massachusetts when she visited for the holidays, and many more memories she was a part of in the last three years. Looking over the memories a tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. Arthur and Alfred were her family and she missed seeing them everyday. But they have their own life to live and she had her's. It was her choice to come to Canada. Her brother wanted her to come live with him but she was being stubborn and decided if Louis never knew where she went then she could forget about him and continue on with her life.

To be honest it has been hard. Louis was the love of her life. She was going to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him. But after Louis started to see Diana, her perfect life fell apart. Not even two months after college graduation, she had to leave him. The only reason she even finished school was because of his help. He encouraged her to get her journalism degree and get a job with Buzznet, the top news source on the internet currently. Lucky enough, she managed to get into the Canadian outlet. Which she is super excited about. She starts her internship next week after years of writing blogs and finally getting their attention. It only makes her aggravated considering it seems he still has an influence over her. Which, in a way, he does. She does not go out except for her job at the cafe currently, then it will be her second job she will go to, groceries, take-out, and home. She has not dated or seen anybody since New York and she has no plan to either. She is going to leave it up to fate if she ever has the chance to catch a boy's attention again. Or have them catch her eyes.

Shaking her head she picked up the hockey ticket and smiled wider. Perhaps this is a sign, her push forward from the clutches of her depression and lack of excitement in her life? Her brother has been wanting to help her get out and sadly, he succeeded slightly with this amazing opportunity to get away from the television screen and actually experience a game with her favorite hockey team. She will take pictures and try to have the best birthday in years. For them and a little bit for herself.

* * *

"We come to Canadia for a holiday because of your boyfriend, my month of partying and getting drunk off my ass and you want to go watch a hockey game with him? There aren't hot chicks at a stupid hockey game!" Two brothers sat in a Montreal bar eating poutine and bratwurst with a pitcher of beer in between them. The youngest brother was a broad shouldered man with bright golden hair, tired blue eyes and a permanent stress wrinkle in between his eyes. He is the epitome of tall and handsome and he was eyed by women of all ages, but he ignored them. Considering he has a boyfriend whom he loves, he is not interested in them. His older brother who was gulping down the rest of his craft sat across from him and if he did not tell people they were related, no one would ever know. The oldest was shorter, leaner, and overall different from him. His brother was an albino, silver hair and red eyes and paler compared to the youngest tanned skin. He also has a very...colorful vocabulary.

"Feli wants to see it. This is his holiday so I will go with him. You are invited as well." Ludwig Beilschmidt took a bite out of his poutine, "plus it is Canada, not whatever you call it."

Gilbert Beilschmidt rolled his eyes as he refilled his glass. "I don't want to." he groaned.

"Fine, you can head back to the hotel room." Ludwig stated and his phone started ringing. He pulled it out and answered it, "Feli, where are you?"

"I am outside the arena. The game will be starting shortly." his broken English made the younger man smile.

"I will be there soon." He said goodbye and hung up the phone. "Last chance. Are you coming?" Ludwig pulled out his wallet to pay the bill and Gilbert groaned. He pulled out his wallet and checked how much money he had and Ludwig heard him curse under his breath. He must not have enough for a taxi or bus back to the hotel.

"I'll go, but don't expect me to like this." He shoved his wallet back into his pocket and stood up. Downing the last of his beer in one large gulp Gilbert headed to the bathroom as Ludwig paid the waitress. This night will be agonizing…


	2. Heaven

**\- Chapter 2-**

_**HEAVEN** _

* * *

Maddie arrived at the hockey arena early to find a seat close up towards the front. Even though she was a big fan of the Canadiens, she did not own any jerseys or merchandise from them. She's not so assertive with what she likes. So, she settled with her usual outfit of a large striped white and red hoodie with tight blue jeans and dark brown knee-high boots. She managed to not look so tired with a little bit of makeup under her eyes and her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her hair resting over her shoulder. Sitting down three rows away from the rink she fixed her white scarf and beret she wore since it was chilly.

Fans were piling in and finding seats with their respective teams and soon enough Maddie was squished together between two burly men dressed in jerseys. The Canadiens are a very popular team. She expected this, but it is getting too uncomfortable.

Moving her body forward she managed to get free and stood up. She needed to move or something. Scanning the area, she tried to find an empty seat still on her team's side and there was none in sight.

With a sigh of defeat she sat back down on the edge of her seat and rested her chin in the palm of her hands. Elbows on her knees she leaned forward hoping the game will start soon. Looking at her watch she stared at the simple cheap watch that read thirty minutes before the schedule start of the game and she groaned. But the players were warming up so maybe, just maybe, they will start early.

See, she is not a people person to begin with. She got too excited to see her favorite sport's team that she failed to remember why she hated going out in the first place. Why did she get a job stuck behind a computer in the first place? To not be around people.

But here she is suffocating between two loud men who were talking loudly and eating their game food in a disgusting manner. She believed a piece of their food they spit out hit her face, which she wiped off with her sleeve.

Okay, she needed to leave. She'll just have to tell Alfred she couldn't handle the atmosphere and her couch was so much better.

Then she sighed again. He'll be so disappointed, and she didn't want to let him down for not staying for a game he bought tickets for. If she had to make the sacrifice…she will move to the opponent's side. Hopefully, they are more civilized than where she is at now.

Making the move she stood up and squeezed passed long legs and large people to get to the other side which had a good number of fans but not as bad as the Canadien's fan base. She could breathe again. If she had stayed the whole time over there, she would have lost her mind.

One lone seat stood out to her and she claimed it before it could be taken, and she sat down. The people next to her were talking to other people and she felt relief wash over. She could move her arms and didn't feel claustrophobic. Everything seemed perfect.

* * *

Gilbert did not like this. Not at all. First off, too many damn tall ass men surrounded him, and it made him want to punch all of them in their crooked mouths to make them shut up. Second, his brother's boyfriend wanted to look around and take pictures.

Feliciano Vargas, Feli for short, wanted to touch everything. He usually does since he is the curious type. But he can't do it here. Not in a foreign country with people the size of grizzly bears. Ludwig, being the good boyfriend, kept the over excited boy in his seat when he tried to jump up and go see whatever caught his eye.

Gilbert leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, crossing his ankles he mumbled curses under his breath when a man shoved passed him. He can't be here. He is going to start a fight before the game even starts!

"Feli, calm down." He looked over to his brother who managed to wrap Feli's waist and keep him in his seat. He was staring at his phone with the biggest grin and the sparkles radiated off him.

"But Luddie, it's a real hockey game! This is so fun!" Feli grinned and Gilbert could only shake his head. He's a good guy…he's just too much to handle sometimes.

What he wouldn't kill to have a beer by now. But he doesn't want to get up. He'll lose his seat with all the mongrels around him. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his phone and checked to see if they have WIFI he could hook up to. After finding a hot spot he connected and checked his Instapics.

10,000 likes on his recent photo. Not bad. Considering its only his desk with work completed. His fans seem to be thrilled for what he has in store next month.

When he heard yelling he looked up to see a fight break out at the bottom stands on the other team's side. He wasn't even sure who was against who, but he knew he was on the Montreal side due to the name being on all clothes and scarves.

The group wasn't throwing punches yet, but Gilbert knew it would end up that way with the way the guys are in each other's faces. Of course, Feli was taking photos of it and Ludwig could only shake his head at his boyfriend's antics. Such a pure boy, never seeing a fight before.

* * *

Maddie felt a headache coming. Right in front of her were two guys screaming at each other. From what she could see, the slim muscled guy accidentally spilled his drink on the lap of a large round man who lashed out at the other for not being careful and now they are at each other's throats.

Rubbing her temple, she had the urge to move again. Out the door, go back home to her couch, watch the highlights on TV and play on her new laptop.

Tempting. So tempting.

Preparing to get up and move again she had no time to react when she felt excruciating pain suddenly in her face. Maddie yelped in surprise when she fell on the concrete, a couple of people jumping up out of the way when they noticed she was falling. The girl winced when the explosion of hurt hit her body and foremost her cheek and eye. What hit her? It hurts for her to move and her face felt almost numb!

"Ya bastards, take your shit somewhere else!" A fan yelled at the quarreling pair and they shot him glares when he pointed to the ground where Maddie was sitting up with the help of the man's girlfriend, who had a panicked look as she checked her. "Go cool off or somethin'! How could you hit a girl!"

"I'm fine" The blonde hair woman waved her hand at the guys and stood up, the other woman standing up with her, supporting her in case she was dizzy from the fall. Maddie rubbed her cheek and looked at the guys smiling small. "It is my fault, I was standing up and didn't notice it. I'm sorry."

The two guys stared at her and the round man let go of the smaller man. Huffing in frustration he gave Maddie one long glare, then out of nowhere he shot his hand forward and grabbed her hoodie, tugging her forward and her eyes widened. She was now face to face with a red-faced man who gave her crazy eyes. And she could smell the strong alcohol coming from his heaving mouth.

"Sorry's not gonna cut it. I don't care if you're a woman, you shouldn't be getting in a man's fight." He growled, and fear fell over her face. She was pulled over the stadium seats and slammed against the rink barrier. She was being choked. The man who defended her before tried to push the big man away and even the small man who was fighting with him previously was trying to help Maddie.

"Let her go! Crazy asshole!" Fans that were spectating were now putting their words in, some men from the top were coming down to help while a few people tried to call the police. Even some hockey players that were warming up noticed the commotion and were yelling at the man to back off.

Maddie squeezed her eyes shut. Why is this happening! How could she get away from him?!

* * *

"Luddie, he's hurting her! What do we do!" Feli had tears falling down his eyes. For some reason the cameraman who was going to film the game was shooting the fight and people on the Montreal side were becoming louder and some men even got up to help.

"We can't" Ludwig's frown deepened. He glanced over to his brother and realized he was not there anymore. He was there only a second ago!

What Ludwig didn't know was that Gilbert was already on the move to the other side. He may not have the best vision, but he saw the bastard hit a girl. No one is to be touched unless they deserve it and it appeared the girl was only getting up. Being the man with a sense of justice he rushed over to the side quick enough to see the escalation of the girl being choked to death.

"Hey fucker" the drunk guy sneered at that and turned his head, only to meet a fist to his throat. With that, the men that held onto him were able to pull him away from Maddie and the drunk man fell to the ground with a large thud. Standing above him was Gilbert, who held the poor girl around her waist and shook out his free hand from the hard punch he just delivered. "You people are so fucking weak." He glared at all the men around him. "Can't even save a girl. Except you, you did good." He pointed to the man who started to help first.

Maddie tried to catch her breath, but it came out ragged and she started to cough hard, almost collapsing onto the ground. But Gilbert held on tight and helped her raise her head, so she could breathe properly and clear her airways.

The drunk guy tried to get back up but Gilbert wouldn't allow it. Slamming his foot into the man's large belly the guy yelled in pain and the silver hair man only smirked. "You deserve it you piece of shit." Security had finally arrived and the large man was unwillingly taken away from the hockey game and the people had all settled down back into their seats while the game started.

Maddie looked up at the man who came to her rescue and she was awestruck at the man now helping her stand on her own. She had never seen unique features such as his before in her life. It is rare to see albinos, especially ones as pretty as he was. But that mouth of his...not as nice.

"Fucking bullshit. Fucking hate people." He cursed loud, even though he helped support Maddie and walked her towards the section Ludwig and Feliciano were sitting. This girl was now his responsibility since he took it upon himself to save her from the crazy drunk lunatic. The German man made it back to his side and got a couple of pats on the back from the people who were watching and a lot of people asking the girl he held if she was okay. It was weak and quiet but she answered she was fine every time someone asked her.

He looked down at her and she looked up at him. He studied her features intently in those few seconds and it felt time has slowed down just for him. Flushed red soft cheeks, long almost silky blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders, and her eyes were so round and so innocent looking. They were an abnormal color like his own. He had seen purple eyes before but her's held so many secrets that he had the urge to unravel them. Of course, she is a stranger. It would feel like he wanted to strip her of everything she holds since they only met a few moments prior.

Yet, it was she, this feeble woman, that made him almost excited to pick and prod out every little detail about her life and more.

He held his breath when she gave him the smallest of smiles that made his heart clench only a little. But it was way more then he ever wanted to feel from a lip movement.

At that moment he realized saving her may have been a bad idea.

He wants to know everything about her now...

* * *

_You wake up my heart_

_and walk to my world_

_I call you a miracle_

_Out of everything that breathes_

_I wanna only remember you_

_Only feel you, only care for you_

_I wanna place you close to me_

_She blew me away_


	3. My Eyes

**\- Chapter 3 -**

_**My Eyes** _

* * *

Free internet music sounded throughout Maddie's house as her eyes were glued to her laptop screen. It was Buzznet, her soon to be new job that she will start in a few days, showing a video of her incident at the hockey game. It had only happened two days ago and her newsfeed kept blowing up because of a bystander who recorded it.

She had become a viral video now. All because she got choked out at a game.

She groaned loud as she switched her video player off and moved to a blog post about it. There she is, the drunk guy holding her against the glass and a clickbait title was in bold underneath. The urge to bang her head against a wall was growing as she read the article. Most of it was true. The person said she was only getting up when she got hit and she apologized to the guy even though he didn't deserve it. So, the person must have been close to her if he heard her say sorry to the guy. Instead of helping or call the police they decided to record her near death. Great, society is so focused on getting internet famous that they don't care about moral ethics.

This is coming from someone who makes a living off the internet too!

Suddenly a flash of the silver hair man came into her mind and she could feel her cheeks heat up. He was gorgeous. She had never seen a man like him before and to have him rescue her when no one else would? Geez, he easily wooed her heart to the point she couldn't even be near him as long as she was. After the game she grabbed a taxi and ran away from him. But his solemn face made her heart clench. She wanted to see him again. Even for a glimpse. Even a picture. How could she ever thank him for saving her life? At this point, she had no idea how to get in contact with him. She can't look online for 'gorgeous white hair model Adonis' now can she? How embarrassing.

In defeat, she logged off and switched to her playlist on her Spoofy, a Kpop song playing as she got up from her nest on the couch. She had neglected housework. It needed to be done or she would be in a pigsty. She began her cleanup, dancing and poorly singing along to some girl group songs as the time rolled by, once in awhile thinking about her knight in black shining armor at the hockey rink.

* * *

It was mid afternoon and the hotel suite at the Chateau Frontenac Hotel was quiet, the resident sitting on his bed in silence as he browsed his phone with the volume mute. He had arrived to the hotel last night by himself and left his brother and lover back in Montreal so they could spend some quality time alone for the rest of their vacation. He didn't want to be the third wheel, like usual, so he decided to visit another Canadian city and spend his time here. Well, that's what he convinced his brother and himself that is what he was doing. But he couldn't try to lie to himself about this random trip to Quebec. He knew it was because of the girl. The girl who left without going to the hospital for a checkup. The girl who left in a taxi, only leaving him with the memory of a broken smile but conflicting strong purple irises. The girl who left without her phone after it falling out of her coat pocket as she rushed to get away from the uncouthing eyes and judgments of people who had watched her get hurt, not even lifting a finger to help her.

Gilbert glanced to the nightstand where the girl's phone laid, face up and turned off since it died. He tried to charge it but unfortunately, his charger does not fit.

The only reason he knew she lives in Quebec is due to her phone having the weather set to it on the homescreen. Thank god for technology.

Gilbert looked at his phone and saw notifications popping up on the screen. He had neglected his Instapic for awhile and people were wondering if he was okay. Even if on a bad day he would post something. So to have him not post anything for a couple of days must be worrying his fans. But he wanted to wait a little longer. He wanted to ease his mind by seeing her.

Getting up he threw his phone on the bed and walked over to his suitcase and popped open the top. He needed to get ready for the day and also start his search for a phone store that can charge the mystery girl's phone so he can contact her. Thinking about it made his heart ache slightly. He was going to see her again. No matter what. He has never been so enamored by a random chick, but something about her caught his interest and she is all he thinks about now. Nervousness settled in his stomach. What if she is just another snobby girl who is actually a sex addict? Or she is a crackhead? Gilbert shook his head and mentally cursed himself. He is a prideful man. To worry about small things, this girl did him a number.

* * *

The walk to work was hot. Sweat fell down Maddie's cheek and she wiped it off quick before it fell down her chin. She brushed her hand against her jean shorts and picked out her old mp3 player that she had to fish out from the depths of her old memory box in the attic. She had lost her phone the other night and had no money to get another one immediately. She is hoping the tips she got from work today will help but a down payment. Do phones have down payments? Why were they so expensive to begin with?

She pressed a couple of buttons searching for a song as she stopped at a crosswalk light. People stood beside her talking on their phones and minding their business. It was noisy and Maddie was not a big fan of it. It made her feel anxiety every time she walked outside with tons of people.

She chose an oldie from her high school days and the blue man appeared on the sign, signaling the crowd to start moving across the street. Maddie went with the flow of the crowd as they walked. Adjusting her backpack she moved her hair since it was being tugged from the strap and it fell across her shoulders. Her hair was as long as ever but it was kept in simple pigtail braids to keep it off the back of her neck. She needed to get a haircut soon but she had presumably gotten lazy over the years to the point where she didn't care. Let it grow, she tells herself as she constantly complains about the length and annoyance it causes her.

Speaking of complaints, did she really listen to this song when she was younger? What was she on?

She unbuttoned the top of her white short sleeved button down and let some of the hot air out. She couldn't wait to get to work and be under the air conditioning. With her final destination in mind she hurried to her job.

* * *

"Fucking asshole." Gilbert growled as he bit into his sandwich. He had stopped by a cafe after trying to find a place to charge the girl's phone and all he was met with was an ignorant asshole who tried to scam him out of his money to use a free charging station. He's not some stupid tourist who didn't understand English. Every person knows what FREE is! So he punched the damn bastard in the face and used the charging port for a little bit before the manager of the store was called and told him to get out. Angry he stopped and grabbed something to eat. To help him calm down.

He sipped his soda with a disgruntled look as the door opened to the cafe and he sighed when the hot air reached him. His red eyes glanced and his heart immediately started to pound in his ears when an innocent beauty walked through the door. One he recognized even before she completely closed the door behind her. It's her.

* * *

_I keep seeing you, even in my dreams_

_I see you, even when I try to avoid you_

_Wherever I am, you're there, even when I close my eyes_

_Your heart only my eyes can see_

_Only my eyes can see_

* * *

Maddie sighed in relief when the air hit her face and she cheered happily in her mind as she walked to the back room to change her clothes and get ready for work. Pulling out her earphones she turned the music player off when she suddenly felt a tug on her shoulder. She turned around and was met with a strange sight. A black phone with a cute cat on the homescreen stared into her soul and all she could do was blink. Until it registered that it was her phone staring back at her. She then realized pale slender fingers were holding it to her and, instead of grabbing the phone, she slowly moved it out of the way and an instant blush fell across her cheeks as her violet orbs clashed with rose red. It's him.

"Y-you," she was left speechless at his sudden appearance in front of her, at her work! Did he follow her? No, that can't be. He had no idea who she was and what she did for a living! Is this a mere coincidence? Fate is playing with her!

"I didn't follow you. This was an accident." He answered as if he was reading her mind and his voice told her he was also embarrassed and surprised at the interaction they were having momentarily. The white hair man snapped Maddie out of her reverie when he grabbed her hand, slipping her phone into her tiny hands. Oh, she was for sure he could feel her heartbeat! "You dropped this back at the game." he mumbled as he let go of her sooner than she wanted. Wah! What is wrong with her!? Is God playing a trick on her! Or did he hear her miserable life needed a little kick in the butt and he dropped this drop dead gorgeous angel in front of her as a 'suck it up, you will be fine' message! If so…

She needed to pray more often.


	4. Stay With Me

**\- Chapter 4 -**

**_Stay With Me_ **

_The faint light was turned off_

_But my eyes are lighting up again because of you_

_Feels like I've loved you from a long time ago_

_Feels like I'm being pulled by something_

_(Stay With Me)_

_Are you living_

_Deep in my heart?_

_(Stay With Me)_

_The truth hidden in me_

_When I close my eyes_

_I see those eyes_

* * *

Alfred stared at his phone with a glare that could kill a puppy. His adorable younger sister hasn't called him in two days and he is afraid she might have gotten into trouble. Maybe she lost her phone at the hockey game? No, his sister is more responsible than that. What could it be? Did she finally make friends? No...she's not the type of assertive person to start a conversation with a random person. There is only one plausible explanation!

She was kidnapped!

His sister is too adorable and he wasn't by her side to defend her from the hungry wolves that she seems to attract. The devil's spawns have lured her to the dark side and she is a hostage! How dare they!

"Dear, what are you looking at?" Arthur had been standing a good minute in the doorway as he observed his husband with a risen brow.

"Maddie hasn't called me." Arthur could see the drooping puppy ears and he rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps she broke her phone. It is plausible." The man walked in and sat down on the couch, Captain the black cat jumping onto his lap immediately and cuddling against his white shirt.

Alfred frowned. It explains why she never answered his calls and texts. "I am going to try one more time." He went to speed dial and put the phone on speaker and the call connected much to his excitement. "It's connecting!" He smiled and Arthur watched his husband with a small smile. When the phone call went through they heard a deep voice and it threw them into a loop.

"Who the hell is this?" The man asked and the two men looked at each other.

"I knew it! You kidnapped my baby sister!" Alfred yelled and all they heard was shuffling in response and the simple calling of his name made him calm down again. "Why was your phone off! Why haven't you replied back to me!" He bombarded her with questions.

"Ah, I am sorry Al." Maddie responded when given the chance. "I lost my phone and I just got it back."

"Who's the man who answered first?" Arthur asked and the girl sighed on the other end.

"The man who found it." She said and Arthur noticed something strange in the way she said it. It almost sounded... love struck.

"Does the man have a name?" He asked and the girl was cut off by the man's voice.

"What are you, her mom? Look, I'm not gonna hurt. All you have to know is that she is going to have a hell of a time with me." He snickered and Alfred almost started to yell when the call was cut off.

"Who the hell is that bastard! I WILL KILL HIM!" He raged. Arthur felt a headache brewing and Captain meowed in response. That stranger more than likely signed his death wish.

* * *

Maddie stared at the red eyed beauty as he hung up the phone on her brother. "Um," she reached out and grabbed her phone back, holding it against her chest "T-that wasn't very nice." she blushed deeper. No one ever dared to hang up on her brother. Now, she is never going to hear the end of it.

"His voice annoyed me. How can someone be so loud?" He picked his ear with a clicking of his tongue. "Besides, this is my time. Not his." He stared down at Maddie and she blushed darker.

"W-what do you-" She was cut off by him stepping forward and he grabbed her phone again. She reluctantly let him and he was typing away on it fast before she could register what he was doing. Then the phone was placed back into her hand.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt." He smoothly introduced himself. Maddie's heart was pounding in her ears that she was surprised she could hear him over it. "Call me when your shift is over." He smirked and she watched him whisk away out the door. Her mouth was for sure gaping open at the spot he stood in only a few seconds before. Slowly she looked down and saw his name and number. The name he had input made her smile small. He was so full of himself. Yet, it fit him so well.

Looking at the name she turned on her heel and walked to the back so she could change into her uniform. Mr. Sexy had to wait on her call for now.

* * *

Later that evening, Maddie had left work staring at her phone. The white hair beauty is waiting for her call.

If she called him, what is this going to lead to? It's so sudden. Does he want sex with her? She can't leave that out. He is a male, obviously foreign, and it seems he is only here for a short time. One, she is not wanting to be a fling. She has not and never will she be one. She refuses to do it now. Even if this man is one of a kind and is an angel sent from above. But that is beside the point. He wanted something. She guesses the only way to find out is to actually press the button and call him.

She pressed the button and placed the phone to her ear. The call connected and it only rang once before he answered, "Mr. Sexy speaking, how may I help you on this fine evening?" He started off and she could only chuckle at his silliness.

"Well, I would like to speak to Gilbert if you don't mind." She smirked and she heard his feigned hurt even over the phone.

"You know you can't resist the sexiness." He replied and Maddie could only continue laughing. He is so, what's the word?

Extra. Yeah, that's it.

"I guess. I did end up calling you." She stepped onto the sidewalk and started to walk home..

"I'm glad you did. This confirms you agreed to go on a date with me." He said suddenly and Maddie's eyes widened. A date already?! Boy, he moves fast.

"Okay." She smirked and before he could reply she spoke again, "Figure out my name and I will go on a date with you." She smirked. That will keep him at bay for awhile. She needed to do a little research. A little shameless social media stalking won't hurt anybody in this case. "In the meantime, I am going to go home and laze around on my computer. Good luck, Mr. Sexy." She said goodbye and hung up, her confidence boost gone and her face was steaming as she stared at her phone again. What just happened? She has never acted that way before. She actually told him to find her name! This is not some stupid comic! Manga! Whatever! It's not it!

Maddie wanted to cry.

* * *

Gilbert sat in his hotel with the biggest grin he could muster. Little blondie has a fun challenge for him. Find her name. Easy-peasy. He opened up the browser on his phone and his fingers hovered over the keyboard.

What does he type in?

He stared blankly at the browser and it hit him.

This is going to be difficult as hell.

She didn't give him any hints whatsoever. He is at this point blindly trying to find a ghost. Gilbert, for the first time in his life, was at a major bump in the road. He has never been this stumped before. This girl…

He liked her even more.

Grinning wider he started his blind search with random keywords. He is not going to give up that easily!

* * *

Maddie had been easily looking up her admirer's name on the internet browser and to her surprise had found many links for him. Most of them were in German. Luckily some were in English and she clicked on the Instapic profile first. A few pictures had caught her off guard. For one, two out of eight pictures that showed first, he was shirtless in. His abs were to die for.

Shaking her head, she wiped the drool off the corner of her mouth and continued looking through. He must be very popular to have so many likes on one photo. Does that say 130,000! Impressive. Then that made her question what exactly does he do. His shots were great and appealing to look at. Even the ones where it was a simple desk or a landscape view. The ones with him modeling too? Oh, she never knew she would meet such an internet famous guy ever in real life. She dreamed about meeting her favorite internet gamers whom she found attractive but this… she liked this more.

Gosh, she had become some shut in fangirl over the years. She use to be so shy and collective but still made time to spend time out in the town, shopping and what not like a normal person.

Now she's what the Japanese call a Internet otaku, if she can call herself that. Once a girl who used to wear dresses, she resorts to pants and shorts. Once a girl who liked to go out with friends and enjoy life, now she rather stay behind her computer and write. And write. Maybe comment on videos every once in awhile. And write more. Her blog had kept her busy that she didn't have time to make friends or speak to people.

Her circle was small: Alfred and Arthur. Wait, that's a triangle. She had a triangle of friends. Now there is the anomaly making its way to becoming the x in her pythagorean theorem.

Gilbert Beilschmidt. Mr. Sexy himself is invading her mind like an alien and she is allowing it! Going as far as to look him up and somehow she had found his wiki page now. Okay, he is popular enough to have a full page dedicated to him.

Gilbert is a photographer who became popular due to his unique photos. Supposedly he takes pictures of models and other Internet celebrities, while also making time to build his profile with himself, his family, and friends. She smirked. He also has a website for some videos he has taken at conventions and stuff. He also talks about German culture and answers comments. So he is a basic NetTuber. Kind of like Tyler Oakley. Or that british guy Jim Chapman. Except it's ten times better since he is German with English subtitles. She has always had a thing for foreign guys, though she never admits it.

Louis flashed through her mind and her fingers hovered over the keyboard, a frown now etching on her lips as she drew them back. Plaguing her mind again. He always comes to mind when she tries to do something different.

She leaned back on her couch and stared at the ceiling. Why can't she let him? She's been trying hard. When she even has the slightest interest in a person he comes back and haunts her with his charming laugh and the smile she fell in love with.

Why can't she be free? This is why she can't date. Cause her expectations are too high and imaginary. They have to be ten times better than Louis, the love of her life.

She glanced at the computer screen in front of her and Gilbert's face stared back at her.

Maybe he will be the key to the cage that keeps her locked up? Or is she just hopelessly dreaming?

What is a girl to do…?

* * *

Nothing. Gilbert stared at the random results and he threw the phone onto the bed, face down in the pillow now as he growled in aggravation.

This. Is. Impossible! How is he ever going to find her? Getting a hint is his last resort right now cause he is dying from anticipation. He wanted to know her name!

Dammit, he cursed while glaring at the contraption that laid out in front of him. He had to do it. Reaching for the phone he looked up the name he gave her and called her. The phone rang and rang and it went straight to voicemail. She did this on purpose. No way she would give him this kind of an assignment and not know he was going to fail epicly at it!

It was too good to be true.

He groaned and was about to throw the phone when a text came through. From Cinderella herself.

"M. Williams? Now, that's what I call a hint." He grinned. And he was about to give up. Hah, he is never going to at this point.

M. Williams is going to be his, for sure. She's not getting away from him. She almost did with her clock struck twelve stunt with dropping her phone and causing his heart to ache at her leaving. Nu uh. Too bad for her, she's stuck on his mind now. And he is told to have a one track mind at times.

Gilbert hoped she is prepared for him to swoop into her life and take her away because that's what is going to happen.


	5. LOVE

**\- Chapter 5 -**

_**LOVE** _

* * *

It was the next day, July 4th, and Maddie had been woken up by her brother at eight a.m. on the dot like usual. It was his birthday and he was complaining about working on his twenty sixth birthday and what-not. But being the best little sister she can be she listened to him ramble for an hour before Arthur finally made Alfred get off or he was going to be late to the office. She promised to call him later and she got off the phone with a long exhausted sigh.

Her brother is great at talking people's ears off with nonsense. Well, most of it was. She didn't even get a chance to say Happy Birthday until he was five minutes from getting kicked off the call. She had to squeeze it in at the last second before he started on another topic.

Maddie had changed clothes and sat on her couch, pulling the laptop off of the coffee table and turned it on. Her shift at the cafe doesn't start until later so she is going to write in her blog to pass the time.

Her blog is very simple. It started out as an outlet for her to write out her feelings of hardships during her first year of college and it had become her diary from then on. Then it slowly became an art/photography blog as she traveled around New York and took pictures of what interested her. A lot of foreigners used her posts to find indie gigs and art shows that weren't usually advertised in the tour guides. Then it started to grow into an informational blog where people sent her questions and she answered them as best as she could.

Her most successful post so far is of her giving dating and love advice to a girl who had fallen for another girl but her parents were super religious and didn't believe in gay marriage. Her of all people giving advice on how to love. But people received it well and it is still one of the most viewed posts on her page. She now has a whole archive related to love advice. It is ironic, considering she had not dated in so long. And she even wrote the blog after her devastating 'breakup' with Louis.

It was more of running away from her problems and she knew that when she left that apartment three years ago. Or four. Since she left him on her 22nd birthday.

Fresh out of college and leaving the big city in America to go to the big city in Canada.

Honestly, she had no idea why she chose Quebec when she could have gone back to her brother's place in Massachusetts.

But Louis had been to her brother's house before. Perhaps she was too scared that he may find her.

Hell, even her parents think she is still living in New York. It had been more than a year since she last talked to them but they call Alfred all the time.

Sometimes her parents forget she exists. It has been happening since she was a kid so she was used to the silent treatment by them.

She logged into her blog when the browser booted up and she immediately had many questions about love, personal, and a link appeared in her ask. Curious she looked at it.

Buzznet, okay, so what did they want her to watch?

She clicked on it and she was redirected to the official website where the hockey game video started to play. A loud groan left her lips. Why does this keep coming back to haunt her!

The question was a simple one: what did she think about harassment in public. Great, this is even more personal compared to the other one's submitted! But the anonymous sender had no clue it was her.

'Thank you for your question anon. I will like to start this out by saying this is wrong on many levels. You see, I was there that night when this happened…' she never mentioned it was her but she began telling her story. About her brother giving her a present on her birthday, going to the hockey game to celebrate and so on.

This is her public diary.

She will share them and be honest with her feelings.

She has learned, through this blog, having the encouragement of complete strangers is not bad at all. Small comments and remarks keep her going.

Hopefully one day someone will be saved by her.

Being a hero, like Alfred, or even Gilbert, is one of her dreams.

Even though she is not strong or physically capable of stopping fights or saving people, she wishes her writing will have the same impact as such.

Speaking of Gilbert.

She looked at her phone. It had been silent. No new texts messages.

Did he give up on her? Was her hint not good enough?

She may have given him the most impossible task. What is she trying to confirm? That he is serious about dating her?

To be honest, it was a spur of the moment. Her defense mechanism kicked in and she may have internally wanted him to give up on the pursuit. It's because she knew nothing of the guy except he helped save her life.

She wanted to learn about him and she got more information than one girl could handle at the time.

Famous photographer, video vlogger, and outright handsome to put the cherry on top.

Now she felt guilty. He is doubting her for sure. He knows nothing, not even her name!

Maddie finished her blog post and exited out of it. Thirty minutes of wandering thoughts in her head and spilled feelings now submitted to the whole world, she finally closed her laptop and got up. Work was soon. She needed to get ready and make sure she got her mind together.

Buzznet started Monday. Which was less than five days away. She needed proper business casual clothing so today she needed to shop for some.

One last glance at the phone she frowned and walked to her room to change.

Not even a minute later her phone lit up and the message simply read 'Madeline, what are you some poor french girl?' with Gilbert's contact name popping up.

Another one appeared. 'Jk, you are hard to find. Damn, but I am getting my date. Be prepared to be swept away by my awesomeness!'

* * *

A grin of victory displayed itself on the white hair man's lips as he walked down the sidewalk towards a random park he found near the hotel.

He was getting his date with blondie! He snickered, imagining the look on her face when she read the text. Extra brownie points and a beer for him cause it took him all damn night to even get a dent in his endless search through M. Williams on every social media page!

He had to get a little creative. Looking through filters, location, and mile radius of where he was staying, he made a giant dent when he got onto Instapic. Only three people in the area had that name, two were male so obviously he clicked the one with a polar bear as the profile pic. When he found her name he couldn't help but smile.

Madeline fits her. And her pictures are even more adorable. There weren't many selfies but when he did find one, he liked it immediately.

Damn, she looks great in shorts. But he already knew that from their previous meeting. It's almost a criminal offence to let her outside dressed like that. Button ups fit her too.

Ruffling his hair he shook the thoughts out of his head. But she stuck and he felt himself smiling again. He hadn't felt this way in a looonnngg time.

Man, it felt refreshing. Like he was kid again.

Cheering to himself he kicked a ball that crossed his path to a group of kids playing and felt too giddy now.

Madeline Williams is going on a date with! Oh, she can't resist. Who could? He's certainly irresistible.

* * *

7:34 p.m.

This is the exact time Maddie read her texts after a long day of work. She had somehow missed Gilbert's and when she read her own name she started to almost hyperventilate. She has to keep her word and go on a date with self proclaimed Mr. Sexy. Which she did not mind. Not a bit. It was still a little sudden. And so fast. She is thankful she decided to do her stalking last night.

Wait, stalking is not the best word.

Research. Right, she did it for research.

If you call watching all of his videos and looking through his pictures 'research' until three in the morning. After her mental breakdown thinking about Louis she climbed into bed with her phone and went on a marathon of random Gilbert videos with interviews and video con live panels. His fangirls are called vogelchen's. Supposedly he likes birds and decided the name himself.

She is now a little bird.

After much deliberation to make the move, she had finally messaged him back and walked home after a long day at work. Her clothes will have to wait until tomorrow cause right now she had to think of a date idea. Gilbert deserved that much. He tried so hard to find her.

It is time to give him a chance.

Beep. 'What the hell do you mean by that?' He is referring to her reply. 'I am planning the date.' he protested and she didn't reply back. The next time she will though, it will be her plan. Her plan to thank him back for everything he's done and much more.

* * *

Gilbert tsked as he waited for a reply. "Making me anxious." He grumbled. Losing track of time he had been at the park the whole time people watching and checking on his media pages. He didn't even realize the time until the street lights came on, awakening him from his stupor. When he got her message he was expecting heart emojis or shock. But all he got was something unexpected.

'Date on me.'

Isn't it usually the man who plans the date? Yet she is the one who stated she is planning. It makes him wonder. What does she have in mind?

He is going to call his brother tonight and talk it over with him. Perhaps a little family time over a video call will help him console with his nervous heart that was making itself more apparent lately.

* * *

_Love_

_My empty heart feels weird these days_

_Love_

_Even the moonlit night makes me feel complicated_

_You you you if you still awake_

_What are you thinking?_

_You you you if you feel alone_

_Do you feel the same?_


	6. LOVE (part 2)

**\- Chapter 6 -**

**_LOVE (part 2)_ **

* * *

A K-pop girl group sounded through the laptop's speakers as Maddie paced the floor around her apartment. Okay, so she had to come up with a date idea. This is going to be hard.

She had given out her challenge to her prince charming and now, her challenge is to come up with a date idea. Which she had no idea how to do it! It has been years since she last had a date and her experience since then has gone down the drain!

Maddie let out a loud groan, hitting her head with her hands and closed her eyes. Then she looked to the computer screen and got an idea. She will look it up! Right! The internet has all of the questions! Moving to the couch she plopped down on it and moved the cursor to the search box. Okay, she needed to look up advice. Perhaps she can find an answer!

Two hours of getting sidetracked and listening to songs that she liked she had finally found out what she needed to do!

...She needed to ask Gilbert what he likes to do for fun.

The answer was obvious. What knowledge does she have of the boy? Zero percent. Maybe five. Cause she knows his internet personality way more than the actual breathing 3-D Gilbert 'Mr. Sexy' Beilschmidt.

This didn't help her case at all!

Her phone started to ring and she picked it up, swiping the green call button and put it to her ear, "Hello?" she greeted and she recognized the voice, but it wasn't someone she expected to call her firsthand.

"Hello, is this Madeline Williams?" the woman on the other end asked and Maddie answered.

"This is she."

She regretted saying those words as soon as they left her mouth, cause what came after shattered her dreams in one swift move. She never expected it. Especially being up and fighting her depression, keeping her head up. Trying to stay afloat. But as soon as she heard the words 'sorry' and 'someone better', she felt as if she was drowning.

Before she ever had the opportunity to start, she had lost her job at Buzznet.

* * *

"I'm busy you know?" Sitting in a nice restaurant with French words he had a hard time reading, Gilbert ate his steak dinner as he talked into his ear piece. His editor, Mathias, called him to check if he was going to be updating his channel anytime soon. Mainly because he was bored and finished recording his video game play throughs. Now he was smoking and wanting to do other stuff. "I offered for you to come with me but nooooo, you wanted to be lame and stick around with that weird stoic guy you call 'your friend'." He did air quotations then stuffed a piece of steak in his mouth.

"He's adorable." A thick Danish accent answered back, "you have bad taste in people."

"I beg to differ. I found the cutest Canadian chick." Gilbert hummed.

Mathias sounded shocked when he asked, "time out. A girl caught your interest?" then a long pause, "I thought you were gay."

"Shut the hell up." Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Anyway, she's cute. Her name is Madeline. Man, she is so quirky, nice, and has a little bit of sass to her. Be jealous." he laughed and Mathias could only process what he just said.

"There are so many...uncharacteristic words you said to describe this Madeline that you will never use to define a person you just met. You like her that much?"

"I don't know man. I felt a spark when I first met her and I have never felt that way with any random chick until I met her." He leaned back in his chair to look at the fancy chandelier above him. Watching the light illuminate off the crystal and bounce around the ceiling. "I have a crush on her."

"Dude, are you okay? Am I even talking to my crazy egotistical Gil right now?" Mathias could not believe what he was hearing. His loveless bastard of a friend is in love with a foreign chick, "you know this is only going to be a crush right?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Gilbert snapped out of his thoughts and suddenly got defensive.

"Your vacation ends soon. Starting a relationship now is not going to work." he stated and Gilbert looked down at his food. He had been love struck to realize that he had to go back home in a few weeks. Back to Germany.

"There has to be a way." He mumbled. Dejected and unsure he placed his fork down on the plate. He had lost his appetite and he set money down where his bill laid. He didn't even notice the server drop it off but it was convenient cause he wanted to get the hell out and take a walk around the city to think. "I'll call you tomorrow, smoke a blunt for me."

Mathias laughed, "Always do. See ya." the phone call ended and Gilbert looked at his phone, scrolling through his contacts. His thumb hovered over Maddie's contact info. What is he going to do?

* * *

Rain poured down on the sidewalks of Quebec and one lone umbrella was seen through the darkness of the park. Maddie decided to take a walk to clear her head. She had already been out for an hour and managed to walk miles away from her apartment. She tried to cry but all that came out was dry coughs. She tried to stop herself from feeling down about it but it hurt. She wanted to work at Buzznet and continue her passion as a journalist. But another intern showed more potential than her and she was cut from the position she applied for. Just like that. Reality is harsh.

"Did you get lost princess?" She jumped at the sudden voice and whipped her head around to see Gilbert, wearing all black, intensifying his silver hair and rose red eyes more compared to the other times she had seen him in these past few days. It is strange that she had only known him for a few days yet her heart calmed by the sight of him.

"Hey" she gave him a shy wave. "What brings you here?"

"My thoughts." he smirked as he walked closer to her, there umbrellas brushing each other as he stood in front of her, "And you?"

"Same" she smiled back. "It's been a rough few hours."

"You're tellin' me." he grimaced now looking at his feet and glanced up to her. Even in a big city they still managed to run into each other. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Ah, not right now." she smiled small and looked away, "I still have to think about it." Maddie scuffed her boot against the wet pavement.

"Then let's walk." Maddie looked up to see Gilbert moving ahead. "Thinking is boring alone." He grinned at her and the girl could only blush in response. It took her moment but her feet moved unconsciously and she ended up walking with him in silence. The uneven footsteps and the rain pattering on their umbrellas was all that was heard, both lost in their own worlds yet they relished in each other's company. They were not sure how much time had passed but they kept walking around the park as the rain fell down.

* * *

Maddie and Gilbert had no idea how they ended up here. They stood under an awning with soaked clothes and missing coverage from the now beating down rainpour that berated the city making it hard to see. It cleared the street of people and cars as soon as it started getting bad yet the two were unaware of the building storm that was brewing. So in result, both of the umbrellas flew away from them in a movie scenario style and they ran for shelter.

The awning was in front of a closed electronics store so they couldn't even go inside to escape, so they resulted in standing there to dry off until the rain subsided enough for them to go their separate ways.

"The taxi service is shit. They stopped running!" Gilbert locked his phone and stared at the clock on the lock screen. It was past midnight now and the weather was not getting any better. He was soaked to the bone. Piece of shit jacket. Why be expensive if it doesn't even fulfill its purpose!

"It's fine." he looked down to the blonde hair girl who he watched pull her jacket close to her to keep warm and he frowned. Great, he can't even keep the chick he likes warm! What a failure of a future boyfriend.

"Who's place is closer?" He suddenly asked and she looked up. Is he thinking about making a run for it? If not, they will be stuck here for awhile.

"Perhaps mine." she looked down the sidewalk. She knew where she was. If they made a run for it they can make it to the residential area in about ten minutes or less. Depending on how fast they ran. She is not in shape whatsoever. It may take all day for her to make it by running.

"What are we waiting for?" Gilbert moved to her and grabbed a hold of her hand, making sure his grip was tight enough so they were not to be split from each other on this run. Maddie could feel the beating in her ears become faster and louder at his touch. Oh he is going to be the end of her.

Suddenly she slipped her hand out of his and turned away, cradling it against her chest. He heard it! She cannot be crushing on a guy she just met! They haven't even gone out on their date!

"You okay, chickadee?" he asked and she shook her head. Chickadee! Oh it's adorable, she can't help but mentally fangirl at her nickname.

"I-I'm fine." breathing out she turned to look at him and she knew her cheeks were red as she locked gazes with him, "Isn't it weird? For us to keep meeting up like old friends when we have only known each other for a few days? And you keep trying to hold my hand…" she squeezed her eyes shut. "We barely know each other."

Gilbert watched her and frowned small. She's worried about that? He took a step back and scratched his head confused. He's never had a girl worry about that before. Is he too straightforward?

He knew the answer to that. He is used to getting what he wants and his interest in this girl is only growing more since he can't snag her easily. Going slow is hard but he'll bring his approach down to speed since he is genuinely wanting to know Maddie. He can't tell why but she attracts him. A beacon of light in a sense. He is not too sure what it could be but he is not going to give up.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt," he started and it got her attention once again so he continued, "I'm 27, I like cars, taking pictures, and I have the biggest girl crush on Lupita Nyong'o, boy crush is Ryan Reynolds cause he is sexy as hell and Deadpool is my favorite character. I like music a lot. Like, addicted and I am always looking for new music. It's a bonus if they are hella sexy. Also I am obsessed with birds-"

"Wait wait wait!" Maddie threw up her hands effectively stopping him from rambling on. "What are you talking about?" she seemed confused and she tried to process what he was getting at.

"I'm telling you about me so we aren't complete strangers." he shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned wide at her, making her heart skip a beat. "When we get to your house, you are allowed to ask me any question about my awesome life if in return, I ask about yours." He smirked and she almost fainted at his generous offer.

He wanted to get to know her. Know her!

She pressed her hands to her face and they warmed up at the burning sensation she radiated from her tomato colored cheeks.

* * *

_I used to be the center of my life_

_But the ranking has changed in one moment_

_I think the love cells have entered again_

_You make me shine_

_Honestly, it tickles so much, I can't take it_

_This dream-like timing_

* * *

"This is so sudden." she mumbled and he only let out a chuckle.

"Time is still going." he offered his hand to her this time and she stared at it. They looked inviting. The want to touch them grew as she stared at his long pale fingers and calloused palm. "We can't waste it with not knowing each other." he smirked. "It may take a long time to fully understand each other but I am giving you this opportunity to start our own clock. Go by our own time." he said and she peered up at his eyes. An upturn on her lips made her aware that she was smiling. Then she laughed.

"You are a philosophical man at heart, Mr. Sexy?" she laughed more and a blush of pink flashed across his cheeks.

"Hey! I am trying here okay?" he almost pulled his hand away but paused when he noticed her fingers laying on top of his.

"It fits you." she said it almost too quietly for him but he still caught it. Wrapping his hand around her hand he made sure his grip was once again tight as he looked to the rain. It only lightened up a little bit but it was enough for them to make a run for it. Both of them smiling as they in sync took off into the rain and ran down the sidewalk.

He wasn't letting go.

She wasn't either.

They ran through the rain, both thinking about what questions they were going to ask when they sat down and talked through the stormy night.


	7. Beautiful

**\- Chapter 7 -**

_**Beautiful** _

_It's a beautiful life_

_I'll be by your side_

_It's a beautiful life_

_I'll be behind you_

_Beautiful love_

_If I am with you under the sun_

_Even just breathing feels good_

* * *

The rainfall subsided after a long run to the small studio apartment. Gilbert and Madeline were drenched. Soaking wet from the escapade through the stormy weather, they stepped inside after Maddie fumbled to find her keys. She opened the door and they were met with a blast of cold air. She forgot to turn off the air before she left and both were shaking when they entered the house. Maddie immediately ran to the thermostat to turn off the air while Gilbert quickly took off his raincoat and hung it up on the rack by the door. He slipped his shoes off and tore his wet socks off. What a relief, that is the worst feeling in the world.

"Here," she returned with a towel and he thanked her, drying his hair and arms as he stepped into the house. It was quaint, clean, and almost bare. The only place messy he saw was the couch where there was a laptop, a can of soda, and a few blankets appearing to her nest since she has as crease in the sofa.

"I have some clothes you can change in to. Wait just a moment," she said quietly as she ran to her bedroom. Making Gilbert raise a brow. She has clothes big enough to fit him? After hearing some drawers close he saw her again and she handed him some simple basketball shorts and a extra large t shirt with a weird design on it. It must be a group logo.

"You like baggy clothes?" He asked her when she led him towards the bathroom to change.

"Ah, I usually don't but I ordered the wrong size when I bought the shirt online. It's used as my sleep shirt."

"Sleep shirt huh?" His mind went elsewhere and he grinned sheepishly. Making Maddie blush, she hurried into her room and showed him the bathroom.

"Hang your clothes up on the rod, I will wash and dry them after we get changed." she said.

"Roger." he entered the bathroom to change, leaving Maddie to go about her business.

He left the bathroom five minutes later and looked around the room. She wasn't in sight. Stepping out onto the fluffy carpet he glanced at the bed and the furniture. Very nice. Simple, but it fit her. And those blankets looked so comfortable right about now.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and it was almost one in the morning. He didn't realize how beat he was until he got clean clothes on and simple carpet felt like heaven between his toes. A yawn left his lips and he knew it was bedtime.

"Are you finished?" he heard the girl's voice from the hallway and he smiled. Well, sleep may have to wait. First and foremost, he's got a girl to learn about. And he's not leaving until he finds out the basic information and more, if she is willing to answer his questions. This is going to be a long twenty questions. Hell, it may end up being a hundred. Smiling to himself he walked out of the bedroom. Madeline Williams, you better not start acting shy tonight cause the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt is going to make his way into your life.

* * *

It was the next day and the small street cafe was bustling with customers rushing their lunch breaks and tourists grabbing coffees so they can continue their days. Madeline was busy. Extremely slammed with customers. Including regulars, she has more people wanting her to serve them. More than usual. Her boss is using her as a scapegoat for sure.

Without her knowing, she's become the mascot! No kidding. She walked in after a wonderful night of getting to know the Snow White prince only to see her face plastered everywhere. When did her boss even have the time to take a picture of her!? That's the real question…

"Table 12 is up!" the cook called and Maddie heard him, thanking the table she was at and ran to the window to pull out the food. She gave the cook a look that cried for help and the man only shrugged.

"Mon chere, it will blow over." he gave her a thumbs up and she rolled her eyes, grabbing the food and going to the designated table. Will this rush ever end?

Finally, three hours later and the place has enough room to breathe now. Maddie sighed as she plopped down in a chair after cleaning all of the dirty tables, refilling the condiments and sugars, swept and mopped the floor, and tending to the few customers that were left.

"Maddie, your food is ready." Set in front of her was a simple sandwich with a side of mac and cheese. Her eyes sparkled at the treat in front of her.

"I am starving." she smiled as the sandwich was immediately taken a bite out of. The woman on the other side of the bar smiled at the blonde hair girl.

"I apologize for my brother, he is the one who mentioned you as the poster girl to the boss. I'm sorry." Maddie glanced up and she couldn't help but smile. Katyusha Braginsky is a beautiful woman. She is the ideal bride for sure. Caring, motherly, so nice it never fails to make her happy.

"Ivan is always like that, I should be used to it by now." she sighed picking her spoon up and taking a large bite of the cheesy goodness. Making her moan at the delectable she just ate.

"Still, Natalia is also a cause of the effect." Katyusha held her cheek frowning slightly. "Her stalking has enhanced."

"Eh?" Maddie blinked. "I knew it!" she groaned. "You are encouraging a bad habit. Letting her take secret pictures of people!" she pointed her spoon at Katyusha who chuckled.

"She could be paparazzi one day." she gushed at the idea, "She is going to be close to celebrities!"

"No, wait." Maddie tried to explain it but Katyusha was already rambling about her soon-to-be famous sister and she had no way of stopping her now. So, she continued eating her food at the counter and watched her customers until they needed something from her.

* * *

The hotel room was noisy. Ludwig and Feliciano had managed to make it to Quebec and have apprehended Gilbert as soon as he came to his room. Now Gilbert was getting scolded by his younger brother. But Gil just took the yelling as concern and worry. He told them he was giving them space but they supposedly didn't like that. What the hell? He was being generous to their lovey dovey romantic relationship. Plus, he's a free bird damn it.

"You told us you wanted us to have our alone time together, all to find out that wasn't why you left! A girl! You left us in an unknown city for a girl! This is unacceptable, you can't up and leave for a stranger. I would have never known if it wasn't for your editor friend!" Ludwig continued on and on and Gilbert sighed. He would have to call Mathias and threaten to wring his neck the next time he sees him. "Are you even listening to me!?" Ludwig crossed his arms.

"Yeah yeah I hear you." Gilbert sighed leaning back in the chair. "You done? I came to find a girl, so what?"

"Is it the girl from the game?" Feli had been looking around the room and had butted in the conversation as soon as he came out of the bathroom. "You came to see if she was okay? How sweet." the Italian boy bounced over to his boyfriend and hugged his large arm. "Isn't it Luddie?"

"That's not the point I'm making." Ludwig coughed into his hand to get rid of the blush on his face. "I was worried. You don't know who this girl is." He said and Gilbert grinned instead.

"You are wrong about that, little brother of mine." The white hair man stood up and pulled out his phone. He then turned the screen around and showed his background to the two, who stared at it. A cute blonde girl in low pigtails, a big t shirt and baggy yoga pants met their eyes. But the thing that stood out was the giant polar bear plush she held. It seemed she was caught off guard. "Madeline Williams, age 25, and my future girlfriend." He huffed in pride. "She's a cutie with a great personality. Plus she's not some racist asshole, and she's not even from Canada. She's from America. Huh, she doesn't fit the stereotype at all. Anyway, she likes polar bears, taking pictures, writing, and, and she is overall awesome-" he continued on his ramble about how amazing Madeline was. Which left Ludwig and Feliciano dumbstruck. Them staring at one another. This is a first… Gilbert is completely awestruck by this Madeline girl.

"Bruder, stop." Ludwig waved his hand and Gilbert. Making the man pout more.

"I was getting to the good part."

"We get it. You like her." He grumbled as he rubbed his temple. Gilbert would have continued for days at the rate he was going. "Are you okay with us meeting her?" he asked and Feli smiled wider.

"Oh, si si, I want to meet her!"

"What? No, mine." Gilbert hid his phone away from them defiantly.

"I'm not taking her away from you." Ludwig sweat dropped. His brother is over dramatic. But he already knew that, of course.

Gilbert gave him a look. He is super reluctant to show off Maddie. She is charming and can easily capture his brother's gay heart and make him bi in a heartbeat. But it's his brother… His family. He needed to get their approval eventually if he wants to make Maddie his girlfriend.

"I'll ask her." He finally answered after thinking about the pros and cons. Immediately regretting his words and wanting to take them back. But it was too late.

* * *

A cute ringtone met Maddie's ear. She had just left work when someone started to call her. She pulled it out and saw her brother's name, making her smile a moment before pressing the answer button.

"Good afternoon Al." She smiled.

"Maddie! I miss you my favorite sister!" He cried and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm your only sister. Do you need something?"

"Yes! I am investigating." he stated and she walked down the sidewalk to head home.

"About?" she questioned and he started rambling about random stuff that made no sense, but after a moment of registering and piecing together what he was saying, she was completely dumbfounded. "Wait, you did a background check on Gilbert!"

"Of course!" he huffed and she wanted to slap him silly.

"That's invasion of privacy and abuse of your power!" she cried. Alfred, her dear idiotic brother is only dumb in common sense. He is friends with people in the FBI, of all places, and he can easily persuade someone to find information for him. She doesn't know how it happened and why, but Arthur is friends with a couple of agents too. So, it's like extended family. In a sense. She's only met one agent before and he was too adorable for an international affairs agent. A Chinese man named Yao. Gosh, he doesn't even look his age!

"I know that dummy! But I want the best for my baby sister!" he huffed. "Sadly, no criminal offenses. He graduated high school but not college, but I was pretty intrigued to find out he's a NetTuber. His content's okay and he takes good pictures. There must be something wrong with the guy. He seems almost too perfect. I hate it."

"Not everybody is perfect." Maddie sighed as she moved onto the crosswalk, "Stop being nosy and leave him alone. Soon enough you will meet him.

"I know I know. He needs my approval." he stated, then a long silence on the line made Maddie wonder if the call cut off.

"Hello, Al?"

"Sorry." He said and it sounded almost distant. "Are you over  _him_?" he asked and she stopped on the other side. Her mind began racing and heart pacing faster. She knew who he was talking about.

"To be honest….no." she moved away from the pedestrian traffic and stood beside a building out of the way. "He will never go away. Even with Gil, all I ever think about is him and I have started comparing the two. I am the worst." she frowned, downcasting to stare at her feet. Thinking about last night she wanted to cry. Every time Gil did something, she mentally said, 'Louis would have done this or that'. Making her feel guilty. She's comparing two completely different people and she feels ashamed.

"Hey, Maddie." his soft voice made her close her eyes, exasperated. "First loves are hard." he sounded sad as well, making her more attentive to what he was saying, "Arthur is my first love and it took me a long time to accept myself as gay. You know, being a popular student of school, football team quarterback, honor society honoree, student body president for our grade. It was excruciatingly painful. But Arthur was all I could think about even when dating girls back then. It was hard to believe he would return my feelings before winter break that year. Do you know how I replied?" he asked her and she shook her head, but he couldn't see her so she said a meek no. He never explained how they confessed to each other, "I started bawling my eyes out and ran away."

"Eh?" she gasped. Her brother cried?

"Yeah. It's embarrassing." He laughed softly. "I wouldn't even talk to him for a month. I avoided him unless I had class that he taught. It was hard. So hard, Maddie. I was trying to accept I was out of the closet for my teacher and before I could even think about getting my feelings straight, the slick bastard cornered me and planted a fat kiss on my lips before I could even get a word out!"

Maddie blinked. Oh, wow. Arthur's a refined man. To picture that, it's difficult. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, he was so smooth too. He told me when I got my stubbornness dealt with, come find him. Because I was the only person who's ever made him feel rebellious. And get this. He had liked me ever since he first laid his eyes on me. He said I stood out from the rest of the students and he could sense something from me. He said I called out to him. Don't know what that meant at the time but he said it was love at first sight. Then after the tutoring lessons, getting to know more about him and even seeing him outside of school a couple of times, I felt a connection and got scared. We were student and teacher. Going public with our relationship was a big no-no, especially since we were both guys. But after our first kiss, it didn't take me long to cherish it and go after him. Then you know the rest." He paused to take a breath, "Seven years later we are still strong. Sure we've had fights. Hell, I flew to your place when we had a big fight."

"Ah, you did. You cried a lot the whole time you stayed."

"Yeah, it wasn't that serious now that I think about it. Arthur and I have clashing personalities. We aren't one hundred percent compatible with each other. We're like ninety five percent. Which is still pretty high. But after having that big fight because I was a jealous twat, I left him for a week. And you know what? I don't regret it. It only made us stronger."

Maddie smiled small. Her brother is still a human after all. His life sounded so perfect and looked idyllic from the photos she has hanging on the fridge. But to get to those moments, they have had struggles. "I want to have a relationship like yours."

"Aw, Maddie!" He squealed. "You will, I promise!" exclaimed Alfred, "And when you do, I want grandbabies!"

"Al!" she yelled and he laughed at her response. "You better expect fur babies, cause that's all I can do."

"I accept fur babies too." he chuckled. "I gotta go, I am meeting a coworker for lunch."

"Okay, bye."

"Wait Maddie," he stopped her from hanging up just in time, "about this Gilbert, he seems okay. He could be a good change of scenery for you." he seemed to hint but it completely flew over her head.

"Scenery?"

"Ah, got to go. Bye love you sis and good luck!"

"Bye Al, love you." the call ended and she stared at her phone. What does he mean by that? Putting her phone away she started to hurry home. She had many things to think about and her blog needed to be updated. She also needed more time to think about Gilbert and all of the things she learned about him last night. Slowly but surely, she will make sure Louis will leave her mind. Three years has been long enough. She refuses to be shackled down any further.


	8. Beautiful (part 2)

**\- Chapter 8 -**

_**Beautiful (part 2)** _

_Beautiful my love_

_Beautiful your heart_

_It's a beautiful life_

_It's a beautiful life_

* * *

Two weeks have passed since Maddie first met Gilbert and to many people who have seen them together, they would say the two hit it off right away. If not romantically, then as best friends. Almost every waking moment was spent together. Gilbert would pick her up from her job and she would take him on a tour of the city or they would go to her house to watch movies and explore things that they liked. She even got him hooked onto a Korean drama that was a favorite of Maddie's and they had managed to finish the sixteen episode series including the specials. So here they were, sitting on the couch when the ending song played and Maddie had bawled her eyes out in the last ten minutes of the show in happiness and sadness. It was an emotional roller coaster. She glanced at her drama buddy and saw him rubbing his cheeks. Making her raise a brow.

"Are you okay?" She asked him and he did not answer her at first, until she saw him wipe at his eye, shocking her. It made him get emotional! He started to cry! "It was good right? K-dramas know how to stab people in the feelings for sure." she sighed holding her chest as she closed her laptop with her foot, making the screen go black on the TV.

"Yeah no kidding? What the hell man, I wasn't expecting that." He tried to cover up the choking sob but the girl could tell the man was feeling emotional right now.

"It's okay, it's okay." she patted his shoulder. "Here," she placed her giant polar bear in his lap, "Kuma will make you feel better." she smirked.

Gilbert gave her a look of defiance. He would not give in! He is a man, dammit! But the fluffiness immediately made him squeeze the oversized plush with all of his might. Making Maddie grin in victory. She stood up and walked to the kitchen. A minute passed and she had come out with a beer, holding it in front of Gilbert and he instantly perked up. Moosehead Lager is now his favorite Canadian beer and she keeps her fridge stocked in case he wants something.

"Here, an apology for not telling you about the emotional wreck you will be after watching  _Goblin_." she smiled and he grabbed the cold beer from her.

"Apology not accepted but I will drink the hell out of this." he used his arm muscle to pop open the cap and to be honest, that is the only reason Maddie wanted to give it to him. It showed how strong his lanky arms were and it made her swoon at the vein popping when he did that. Yup, she's a sucker for strong men.

"Why not?" she smirked stretching her legs and arms. After sitting for so long she almost became stiff.

He took a large gulp of beer and relished the alcohol. "Take me on a tour of the Quebec scenes from the show and maybe I will forgive you." he grinned and she blinked.

That's right. Some of the scenes from  _Goblin_ were shot in Quebec. She forgot about it for some reason. "I don't mind. It's going to be a long walk though."

"I'm ready." he stood up, putting the plushie on the couch and downing the rest of his beer in one go.

Fact number one: Gilbert loved beer.

Fact number two: he can hold his alcohol because he a full blown German with high tolerance.

Fact number three: Maddie loved it when he drank a full bottle like its nothing. She herself has a low tolerance and sticks to maple cream soda. Alcohol is not her thing so watching Gilbert drink bottle after bottle satisfied her craving for anything alcoholic.

Gilbert went to the kitchen to throw the bottle away and Maddie went to the bathroom to freshen up. She was in relaxing yoga pants and a big shirt so she needed to change into 'date' clothes.

See, they never had their first official date. The one that Gilbert won after finding out who she was. That night with the rain could have counted as an official date but at the same time it wasn't what she planned. She wanted to be hopeless romantic and go out to eat at some fancy restaurant, have him pull out the chair for her and everything. Share his jacket when she was cold, carry her when her heels got uncomfortable, take her home so she could fiddle with her keys and get that unexpected good night kiss before he left.

But no. Life's not a drama or a manga. It's reality and it's not the way she wants it. But the end result is still good. She's got a handsome video star in her house and she could not be any happier. She is basically living what every fan girl wishes they could do. The only difference with the fan girl chasing the star, the star somehow became the fan boy and came for her. Which she did not mind at all.

Sempai noticed her. She's way okay with the outcome.

With much disdain, she has to thank that man who choked her out at the hockey game. But she needed compensation after using all of her makeup to cover the bruises he left. She used all of it for the first few days after it happened. What was his name again? She knew he was related to a politician in the cabinet but had no remembrance of who it could be. She'll have to look it up. Some website will have it for sure. It is the Internet after all.

"Chickadee? You okay, you're taking a long time?" she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her closed bathroom door. She had unconsciously made it in here with clothes and apparently she blanked out with her random thoughts.

"I am good. Wait a minute, I am changing." Maddie put her clothes down and started to get ready when she heard him.

"More the reason for me to come in." he laughed and she flushed pink. What a boy.

"It's locked." Not really. She smiled as she changed, putting on deodorant and pulling a brush through her long hair. Seriously, it's time for a haircut. The knots and tangles were getting harder to pull through every day.

Finishing up she opened the door and saw a pained expression on Gilbert's face. "What's wrong?" she cocked her head as she messily braided her hair over her shoulder.

"I heard a tearing sound." he shuddered. "I thought for sure you'll be bald when you opened the door. That sounded like it hurt." he patted the top of her head. Maddie blushed at the sweet gesture. She better start thanking the angels again for sending one of their own into her life.

"Ah, it's a girl problem." she chuckled, trying to ease the nervousness in the pit of her stomach. The two left her room after she grabbed her keys, wallet, and phone. They were off on their  _Goblin_ tour, as dubbed by Gilbert, with few hours of sunlight to spare, both having one ear phone as they listened to the soundtrack as they trekked through the busy Canadian city.


	9. And I'm Here

**\- Chapter 9 -**

_**And I'm Here** _

_And I'm here just_

_just like I used to be_

_We were here in old days_

_with you with me_

_All my fears have gone_

_when you whisper to me_

_No matter how_

_near or far apart apart_

_When you feel so lonely_

_Have you completely erased me_

* * *

In New York City, it poured down on the busy yellow taxi streets and the million pedestrians rushing to go about their day. It was lunchtime and one man found refuge in a coffee shop. He had ordered his coffee black and sat at a two people table, using the other chair for his laptop case. His laptop was out on the table and he was checking some email. Then he ventured onto the free wifi and started to read his favorite blog. Her blog.

He knew about it. She had tried to keep it a secret but he found out when she started back in her college days.

He had met Madeline Williams when she first started college. The small college mainly revolved around liberal arts and technical skills and he was a senior aiming for a fine arts degree when she was an incoming freshman. Yeah, he didn't think he would go after a freshman of all people but he did. All because she stood out from the rest of the preppy girls with lots of makeup and poorly dyed hair.

They shared everything together. Used to. Now she should be a distant memory. But he can't stop thinking about her.

He admits he did wrong. But the relationship had gone south. To him at least and he had shared a bed many times with Diana. She was charming and he just wanted another soul to talk to about his feelings. She listened to him and he even fell in love with her for a short period of time. That is, until he proposed to Madeline. Perhaps he wanted to tie her down and make sure no other man could see the purity of her soul and colors.

She was a lot of 'firsts' to him. First woman he moved in with, first person to give flowers to that wasn't on a holiday, the one girl he shared his food with even when she didn't get anything from the late night fast food run, and the first love of his life to ever walk out on him.

Louis sipped his coffee as he read the recent blog post. She had been doing well. The blog has taken off with popularity and he's sure she would get the attention of advertisers who will pay her generously.

He was happy for her.

His ringtone went off and he touched the blue tooth in his ear. "What do you want?" he asked terse into the speaker. A scoff was his answer.

"Is that anyway to answer your baby momma? Your kid wants to see you, you heartless bastard." It was Diana and he knew before he answered the phone she would be calling. After Maddie left him, full of grief and regret for letting her go, he cut off ties with Diana and she ended up being pregnant with his kid. Now he has child support to pay and joint custody. It's not a bad thing, but this woman gets on his last nerve.

"I will come see him this weekend." he said in a blunt voice making the woman on the phone growl.

"You better. How the hell am I supposed to have fun with this brat around, huh? Take him already!" Louis sighed. What a horrible mother.

"Fine, I will pick him up. Don't come crying to me again when you get a drunk emotional wreck saying you miss your baby and want him back." he said in an uncaring tone and the woman cursed at him loudly to the point he hung up on her. Louis rubbed his temple and looked at the computer screen, reading the cute username of his ex-fiancee. A deep wrenching feeling entered his gut. It's a feeling he has had plenty of times throughout the years.

Regret.

He missed Madeline.

She was the one who got away and he lives with the regret every day.

Maybe...he can try and send her an email?

He just needed someone to talk to and maybe, she can help him?

Without further ado, he looked at her 'about' page trying to find a business email. After finding one, luckily, he immediately pulled up his mail page and began his composition. He will not remain anonymous. In fact, he will tell her everything.

* * *

The Plains of Abraham. The hill overlooking the Chateau Frontenac, the main scene used in  _Goblin_ where the main characters Eun Tak, the goblin's bride, and Kim Shin, the goblin, met again is where the two friends stood at. They watched the sun touch the water and they both had wide smiles on their faces as they enjoyed the breathtaking scenery. They had finished the tour after looking at the Christmas store, the streets, the park, and all of the places Maddie could find on her phone through a blog about the locations. They even went to the hotel where Gilbert admitted it was where he was staying with his other companions and they ended up getting a nice early dinner together with Ludwig and Feliciano. From what they could see, the two boys liked Maddie and that made her happy and accepted.

The wind was blowing gently, families were walking around enjoying the weather, dogs were running on the ground below them and the end of the tour couldn't be any better. It was beautiful.

"Today was fun." Maddie said breaking the comfortable silence between them. She glanced up at his face and her heart started to race at his smile.

"I'll never forget it." Sitting down on the grass, Gilbert patted the spot next to him and she joined him, pulling her legs to her chest as she rested her head on her knees. Her eyes never left Gilbert, and he felt the lingering stare so he met her gaze, his smile growing bigger, "Whatcha lookin at?" he grinned and she chuckled.

"You, silly." she smiled small, her eyes moving to the grass. "I was lucky to have met you." she mumbled, Gilbert raising his brow as he leaned back on his arms.

"You sound like we are not going to see each other ever again. It's ruining the mood." he watched her and concern flashed across her face for a second but he caught it. Something's wrong.

"You will be going home soon." There it was. All the fun together, drinking and watching shows, rocking out to music, reading books and taking long afternoon naps under the warm sun, cracked and reality hit him. He is going to be leaving this magnificent woman who he is proud to call his friend. He wanted to continue learning about her. Watching her become more confident in herself, make herself more open to him, talk about their worries, the good, the bad, and everything in between. Soon, it will end.

He will return to make his videos, go to interviews, take pictures, and do tours. But nothing will ever be the same if Maddie was not there along for the ride.

She won't be. She lives here in the beautiful city of Quebec and he will return home to Germany, to the busy and bustling streets of Berlin.

Without her.

No laughing, no crying, no worrying. Nothing.

He's going to leave behind the best woman he's ever met.

"Hey, we can still talk to each other you know?" He looked away. But it wasn't the same. Talking through a computer screen is not the same at all.

Maddie smiled though it was tough to do so. "You have me on Instapic so we can message from there, like we have been doing." she smiled. "Your international phone won't be on when you get your regular phone back."

"Ah, you're right." he scratched his head. He did tell her that he shuts his phone that he uses abroad off when he is back in Germany to save money. "What are you going to do now? You gonna try Buzznet again?"

She ended up telling him why she was out alone on that rainy night. She had lost her opportunity to work at her dream job and he had done his best to cheer her up. Although he failed miserably at comforting her, he did get her some ice cream and they ended up having a heart to heart which came easily for the both of them. You can say, on that dreary rainy night which was supposed to be symbolic for the worst day of their lives, turned out to be the best bonding moment.

"I might, or try the local news station. Maybe they need a writer." she looked out to the water again and smiled. "I don't want to be a waitress forever. It's time to have a change of pace."

"That Russian guy will refuse." Gilbert snorted. Ivan was a character, for sure. He met the tall bastard after picking Maddie up one day from the cafe and he was intimidating like a father. The big chested woman, Katyusha he thinks, was the mother while the creepy Natalia girl was a sister. Stalkerish yandere sister. He shivered thinking about the weird siblings.

"Ah, I think he will understand." Maddie said. "Like my brother said, it's time for a change in scenery." Although her brother specified it was Gilbert who will change it for her, she had not the slightest clue on what that meant. It is like he wanted her to pack up and move with him.

She blushed at the thought. How can she do that?! She can't run away from her life and move to a foreign country and start over!

Then she paused. Oh. Her eyes downcasted and she felt hypocritical.

That's what she did when she left Louis. Packed up and moved to Canada. But that was a legitimate reason! He broke his trust and slept with another woman. That's why she left. She never wanted to see him again. She was scared. She was afraid of seeing him again and falling back into his arms, loving him with all of her heart and forgiving him for his mistakes. There was no man she was leaving behind if she moved again. Nor is there an emotional attachment to the place she currently lives at. There are no important memories here. Except…

The game. Meeting her savior, running from him, and him coming back full force into her life and making himself known to her that he wants to be friends with her and hang around her weak presence while others barely knew who she was in this giant city.

She wanted to get back into meeting guys and maybe having a chance at romance. It has been too long since she has been haunted by Louis. Meeting Gilbert, fate was giving her a rough push. Snap out of your depression! Here's a handsome devil who will care for you and worry about you when you are sad, make you happy when you tell a bad joke and he laughs at how horrible it is, who cries with you when your favorite couple finally get together cause he was rooting for them as well.

To find the perfect guy is impossible. But she may have found the perfect guy for her.

Her eyes widened at the revelation she had while thinking about it. Then she smiled. Her brother is dumb, but she loves him. It's basically his way of saying start over with what makes her happy. The thing, or person, that makes her happy in her lonely life at the time is the German man sitting next to her. It is the reason why he said Gilbert.

" _Meet Gilbert? You already know all his legal records." Maddie twitched as she talked on the phone with Alfred. It was a few days ago and Gilbert had to spend time with his family and tour the big city. She was invited but denied, giving him time alone with his brother who he abandoned the whole trip._

" _But Maddie! He has to meet me or I won't approve of him dating you!" Alfred yelled in her ear, again. Like usual. Nothing brings the jolly man down, Ever. Well, except Arthur._

" _We are friends Al!"_

" _Friends don't hang out and flirt every day!" he yelled back making his sister twitch at his foolish remark._

" _For the last time, we don't flirt with each other. I am his friend!" she huffed as she pulled out her cream soda from the fridge and bumped the door with her hip, closing it._

" _Aw, why do you lie to your brother? I never took you as the kind to do that." he sniffed._

 _How agitating, Maddie thought as she moved to the living room. "He is a friend. I told you how I met him." Though she did leave out the part where she almost_ died,  _because that's a whole can of worms she doesn't want to spill out._

" _It's fate Mads. Get him a plane ticket and bring him down here." He said it with so much seriousness that it scared her a little. What is he planning?_

" _He has to go home soon." she said sitting down on the couch and sipping her drink._

" _To Germany." he clicked his tongue. "He can make a detour for a day or two."_

" _I'm hanging up." she sighed and she was about to end the call when her brother stopped her by yelling incessantly at her. Which she reluctantly put her phone back to her ear, "What?"_

_Then she heard him laugh, "It's nice to have you back to your normal self. You aren't holding back anymore." he said and she placed her drink down, "He's good for you."_

" _Al…" she mumbled and then he said his quick goodbye, saying he is expecting good news from her and hung up. Maddie stared at her phone. Her brother is so weird._

"...ddie, Maddie, yo, Earth to space cadet." a hand waved in front of her face and she blinked, snapping out of her reverie and looked at the red eyes staring at hers. "You okay?" Gilbert asked and she blushed bright. How long has she been spaced out!

"I'm sorry! I got lost in thinking and, and I am sorry!" she hid her face in embarrassment and the man only sighed, smiling at her cute act.

"You thinking about me?" He grinned sheepishly and she squeaked. Shaking her head in denial. Although he could tell she was lying. "I know, I am beyond awesome." he laughed and Maddie peered up. Her heart beating uncontrollably when his hand placed itself on her shoulder, playing a little with her long strands of blonde mess atop her head.

Gilbert Beilschmidt is her change of scenery.

This is dangerous.

Falling in love again...is impossible. So for now…It is best that they split ways. Leave each other and live their lives.

This was great while it lasted. She made an everlasting friend. But for her to be romantically involved with him.

This is the line. Her feelings cannot cross over to him.

She slowly moved her hair from his hand and stood up, the man taking it as a queue to get up as well and she looked up to him. "I'm glad I met you." Maddie smiled to him and Gilbert, of course, smiled back.

"Same to you Chickadee. My boring vacation was way more fun!" He smiled and she continued to smile, although her heart was uneasy.

"Let's go before it gets dark. I am hungry." she said and she led him down the sidewalk down the hill. Trying to keep a reasonable distance from him. But he kept closing it. Brushing her hand with his and shoulders were bumping. Making this way harder than it should to let him go. Her brother is rooting for this to work. But he is not Maddie. She needs time. She jumped too quickly into this.

He may be her change of scenery, this man that swooped in and stole her heart, but change is scary.

It's never going to happen. Or she will be heartbroken yet again and she cannot take it.

This man is perfect.

Which makes him dangerous.


	10. Wish

**\- Chapter 10 -**

_**Wish** _

_After a tiring day_

_When I came home_

_Strangely, I felt an unfamiliar feeling_

_An unknown dizziness_

_An unknown frustration_

_Will I be okay?_

* * *

_How long has it been since I last talked to him? The messages date back to two months ago. The last words he said were we will meet again and I never replied back. I want to talk to him but I am scared of him. An angel who made my life wonderful for my summer holiday. A man who watched my sappy dramas, listened to my weird music choices, drank beer next to me while I settled for soda, walked by my side as we walked the lonely Quebec streets after everybody else was nestled in their beds asleep, the man who listened to me ramble about my hockey obsession with interest even after he told me he wasn't a fan of it. This white hair Prince Charming I failed to let sweep me off my feet because I am still thinking about the ghosts of my past. My faults, my troubles and everything in between that makes me unfit for a beautiful perfect-to-me man. I have picked up the phone plenty of times and thought of what to write, only to erase it and wait another day. I usually have all the answers but today I don't. What do I do?_

Maddie stared at her post and sighed. She felt a little better after writing it down but it still wasn't enough. She looked at her phone which had been eerily silent ever since she last saw Gilbert. Of course, Al shouldn't count at this point as the only person in her phone that calls her. She sees the other three contacts at work daily: Ivan, Natalia, and sweet Katyusha. Her little Canadian-Russian family. Of course, the pizza and Chinese delivery places are on speed dial. Her parents numbers...which she had forgotten since she hadn't seen the call screen in a long time now. Even if Maddie took the initiative and called them, they wouldn't know who she was. No, they don't have Alzheimer's. They just choose to forget about Al and her and moved on with their lives as if they never were a part of it. That's why Al took the photo albums and videos from his last visit to Florida since they were throwing them out like garbage. But it's okay, it didn't affect the siblings in any way. Except when they did not even take the chance to see Alfred get married to Arthur, that hurt them greatly and they will never forgive them for that. Therefore, they are going to not let them back in their lives even if it meant leaving the country. They had already changed their last names. Madeline took her grandma's maiden name, Williams, on her mother's side and Alfred took on Jones, which belonged to an ancestor who fought in the Civil War for the north. He thought it was awesome and chose it, hyphenating Kirkland to his name after he married Arthur.

Madeline Williams.

Alfred Jones-Kirkland.

She smiled. Their last names didn't bound them to their parents anymore. That's one ghost that had not haunted her for a long time. She had plenty more to deal with.

Maddie posted to the blog and opened her email soon after to delete spam and the sorts when she saw a weird mail buried with the rest. How long had that been there? Two months ago, about the time before Gilbert left.

Clicking it she waited for it to load. The subject made her heart drop. The nervous sweats immediately started when she stared at the name. It was a name she can never forget. She would have had his last name if she stayed with him after all.

_Louis Blanchet (lbchris_902 )_

_Subject: no subject_

_Dear Madeline,_

_This is strange and out of the blue, but I wanted to say hello. It has been years since I have seen you and I wanted to know how you have been doing? I know, I don't deserve to message you after I hurt you but I have been thinking about you and how sleeping with Diana and letting you leave were the worst mistakes of my life. I wish I could turn back time and fix it, but at the same time I don't want to. Otherwise I wouldn't have my son. His name is Christian and he takes after me more then Diana (thank god) so you know he is good looking._

Maddie held her breath when she read that line and let out a snort when she read the joke. He must have put it in to make her laugh. It succeeded a little. She continued reading the second part.

_As for me and Diana, we don't see each other unless its to pick up and drop off the munchkin. But as it seems I am getting full custody of him soon since his mother is being irresponsible and continuing her college days as a drunk._

_Do you still paint? Or do you watch those Mexican soap operas? I am sure many things have changed. Your interests and your hobbies. But I am curious about you. Always have been._

_You might never reply back to this message but it would be nice if you did. I am not trying to get back together with you but I want to keep in touch. Be friends maybe? All I am saying is that I regret everything when I watched you leave the apartment that day. I should have gone after you but I read your letter and I knew then that you have a heart of steel. Nothing could change your mind and that is probably why I fell in love with you in the first place._

_Please reply back, I am waiting for you to answer me._

_Yours truly,_

_Louis Blanchet_

_P.S. You are the one that got away and I can never get you back. I am sorry._

Madeline immediately shut the laptop and felt her anxiety shoot up. Her breathing got heavy as she clenched her shirt. She screamed in frustration as loud as he could, aggressively throwing a pillow at the floor. What made him do this! To make her anticipate him if she did answer his email? What a jerk! Angry she stood up and paced around the room to calm herself but it wasn't working.

Playing games with her! He can't jump back in to her life as soon as she tried to fix it! She is not going to play the bigger adult and reply back to him. No. She will make him suffer for as long as she wanted!

* * *

_One day, two days, a week has passed_

_Time is flowing_

_But I'm only looking at the sky_

_Like a person without any thoughts_

_I'm blaming myself and laughing at myself_

_Becoming more and more miserable_

_Without you, I'm so pitiful_

* * *

Her feet hit the cold tile of the kitchen and it made her pause. Her eyes widened as she felt the hot tears roll down her cheeks and she watched them fall to the floor. Is this what she had been doing to Gilbert? Making him wait for her message. And he was not replying because he was the last one to contact her. She ignored him.

But that was intentional. She had to stay away from him so he would not have to deal with her problems.

Sighing she wiped her face and walked to the fridge. Opening it she pulled out her soda, popped it open and gulped it down. At times like this, she wish she could drink alcohol! But she didn't have any in the house anymore. There was no point in buying it. Since he wasn't here.

Her eyes looked at the laptop and she frowned. To ignore the cheater is one thing but to leave the man she wants to be with hanging as well...what does that make her? A runaway. A person who wants to live without fixing any of her problems.

Her brother wasn't here to push her to fix herself. But she wished he was here with her. She didn't know what to do.

* * *

_I really want you_

_But I can't wish for you anymore_

_In front of these countless emotions_

_What must I do?_


	11. I Miss You

**\- Chapter 11-**

_**I Miss You** _

_When I look at you, tears keep falling_

_I don't know why_

_Did you go round and round to come to me?_

_I can't avoid this love_

* * *

Berlin was loud. Laughter, yelling, cursing, happy go-lucky times filled the busy streets near the shopping district and Gilbert was having the hardest time filming a video in his one bedroom apartment. It was finally the end of fall and the winter months were ahead and it was going to be obnoxiously cold outside. Which meant it was time for Gilbert's hibernation.

Frustrated he turned off his camera and equipment, rolling in his chair to his desk and pulling up the browser. He has had a creative block for awhile now. Matthias was getting bored with no work coming to him, but the silver hair man had no inspiration. He managed an update video about his vacation when he returned to Germany. Three months ago.

His last message to Madeline was the day he left. August 2nd. He sighed. She had been inactive with her account and he has been trying to find a way to contact her. But it was futile. He had searched for her other accounts yet he could not find anything else with her name or even the little information he knew about her. She was almost invisible in the internet space. No one knew who she was, not even the search engine!

Clicking his tongue. How stupid of him to not ask her email address. It would be so much more easier to contact her that way. He had seen her use it plenty of times while emailing….someone. Not sure but she was replying to a different email every time he watched her. It was strange to see her so invested in replying to every one of them with enthusiasm. Stupid Gilbert, not bothering to memorize it!

He got up and grabbed his camera and tripod. It was too noisy in here. He needed to get a video out, even if it was a vlog! Walking out of the room, he trudged his way to the little living room he used and plopped down on the couch. The sounds were muffled a little and the boom mic may still be picking up the busy street life, but at this point he didn't care. Turning the camera on he checked everything to make sure it was working and he nodded.

It took him a moment to start but as soon as he started talking, he couldn't stop.

* * *

The video ended up being twenty minutes long after Matthias edited it and he was utterly surprised that he had gotten the okay to upload it from Gilbert. It's completely different than his other videos. He literally spilled his guts out and the whole world is going to know! Want to talk about a bold move? This is the boldest move his German friend has ever pulled.

Matthias accessed the man's account and started the upload. He watched in anticipation as it rendered and he almost choked on his breath when it was fully uploaded in less then five minutes. Bless and curse his fast internet speed.

Now then, it's time to see the reaction from all of his fans and many more who stumble across this.

This Madeline girl is certainly the lucky one.

* * *

_It's been awhile. I know, you missed me. But I am still human and need time to recuperate. My vacation had ended long ago and it was for me to recharge my ideas, but I came back with no motivation. You see, I went to Canada for my vacation. It's not idealistic. I could have gone anywhere but my bruder and his friend wanted to go so I gave them the vacation they needed. No idea what attracted them there in the first place._

_When I first got there I was bored. The attractions were nice. Don't get me wrong Montreal, you are cool, but I was missing something. An escape of sorts. I could have done anything I wanted yet I had no idea what I wanted to do. Food was good, beer was alright. It's not German but still it satisfied me. My brother's friend had the craziest idea ever. I mean, who would want to go to a hockey game of all things? But it was the most Canadian thing and he wanted to go see a bunch of ruffians go at it on the ice._

_I was bored. Let's be honest. I wanted to go back to the hotel room. But something kept me there. And yes, it was an argument. You know, I am always excited for a good fight. It was the opposing team's fans and they were yelling at each other. This really big dude started throwing his hands up and hit a girl by accident. Now, I do not like violence against innocent bystanders. She had nothing to do with it and yet, the big guy turned it against her and even ended up choking her, throwing her against the glass that separated the fans from the players._

_The rage in me pent up and you know what, I got up, went to the other side and punched the hell out of the guy._

_This story sounds familiar to my North American audience. It was on the news about violence at a hockey game that got out of control. Yup, I was there and I was the one who ended up saving that girl. Cause all of the other people except one person stayed back and recorded it on their phones. They were cowards for not helping her. I may be an internet addict myself but I know when it's morally right to help someone._

Arthur watched the video his husband pulled up on their computer and Alfred sat beside him with tears threatening to fall from his eyes. The British man frowned, pausing the video and wrapping his arm around his lover. "Al, it's okay. You don't know if its Maddie."

"It has to be! Who else would he be talking about? My baby sister was hurt and she didn't even tell me! I was the one who gave her the tickets for that game!" He cried covering his face and Arthur rubbed his arm in consolation. Kissing his temple gently he shushed him quietly.

He pressed the space bar and the video resumed. Both of the guys looking at it and Captain jumping on the back of the couch to sleep.

_Back to the girl. I am always honest. I don't lie. So what I am going to say may be a shock. When I saw her eyes and held her in my arms, I felt a connection. Kind of like spark. You know, love at first sight kind of stuff that only exists in weird fanfictions and weeaboo stories._

Alfred wiped his eyes and watched in astonishment as Gilbert blatantly told the world he went FBI and tried to find her again. At this point, he already owed this man more than he can offer. He saved his sister's life. He changed Maddie for the better. Alfred hated to admit it but this man was great for his sister.

_I let her go that night. But you know what, we met again after that hockey game. *laugh* She lost her cellphone and I managed to charge it to see her weather for Quebec on it. So I figured why not take a little trip to take Cinderella her phone back._

"I see what's happening." Arthur stated and Alfred looked up at him as he paused the video once more, "You did say Maddie hasn't talked to Gilbert since he left. Is this his way of trying to contact her?" he wondered and Al smiled. His husband was smart. That is exactly what this is!

"This is why I married you!" He jumped up, planted a fat kiss on the British man's lips and ran to go retrieve his phone off the charger, leaving Arthur a sputtering mess on the couch. Captain meowed, almost sounding like a laugh.

Alfred grabbed his phone and pressed the number '2' on his speed dial. It took four rings too long before Maddie picked up and Alfred was already talking before she managed her 'hello' to him.

"You need to get to a computer or something!" He yelled.

* * *

Maddie blinked twice as she walked along the hustling sidewalk full of people going home after a long day of working. She is also part of the crowd when her brother called out of nowhere and almost demanded her to get to a computer. "Why?" she asked.

"It's important!" she rolled her eyes and blocked the sun from blinding her by shielding her face with her hand, "It's about Gilbert!"

Now that made her stop in her tracks. Almost bumping into a person, who scowled at her and scurried around her person, she listened to Alfred continue, "He had uploaded a video to his channel and I need you to watch it."

When did he upload that? She looked at her phone and noticed the little notification on her bar, saying a new video uploaded. Shows how much she actually looked at her phone for things nowadays. Putting the phone back on her ear she responded, "I will watch it when I get home."

"Okay, you do that. I am going to call you back in twenty minutes to check if you actually did." His tone was serious, suddenly making the girl nervous. Her brother is scaring her with this. What did Gilbert say to make him act this way.

"I will watch it." she said and he hung up after a minute of making sure she would watch it. Maddie, exasperated, moved to the crosswalk and took the chance to cross when the light turned green for pedestrians. The park was a little busy but not enough to where she felt overcrowded. She found a spot on the fountain, feeling the mist of the cold water hit her neck but she didn't care. The video browser was already up and she hovered her thumb over the thumbnail. It was him and it made her heart pound by looking at his small smile. Who knew she would miss that small gesture so much?

Giving up on him was the hardest thing she did. Not contacting him had been hell. When she was down, she thought about him cheering her up and going out to eat to calm her down. Or watch shows with her, listen to music, and the one time they actually danced to really bad techno music because he had too much alcohol and ABBA made him feel himself.

It's just like with Louis but different. Gilbert and her never had a romantic relationship to break up from. A friendship that bloomed too soon only to wither away with lack of communication. That's how it was. Avoiding him on social media had been easy. She deleted the app from her phone so she didn't have the urge to check his page.

She sighed. Running away was hard.

With a boost of courage she pressed the video. While it loaded she input her headphones and slipped them in her ears. Her violet eyes were on her phone and the video started. It was Gilbert acting kind of nervous on his couch. He cleared his throat a couple of times and it made her quirk a smile. What is he so hesitant about? It made her chuckle.

Then he started talking and her full attention was on him. Every sound around her had been blocked out to the point it was his voice she heard only. It took her moment to realize he had been speaking English this whole time. Her undivided attention was on him and she failed to realize almost ten minutes have gone by.

_I met her at her job by coincidence. Or fate if you want to be cheesy about it. Cause when I saw her again I was so excited to see her. I gave her phone back to her and at that moment when I told her my name, I knew there was no going back._

_She has a beautiful, carefree mind with the weirdest taste in music but you know what, I love an original girl. She was everything I wanted in a girlfriend. Hell, she even met my bruder and friend and they didn't scare her away. We went on dates, some at her house and some out and about touring Quebec. Simple things were the best when I was with her. I could sit on a couch with her and watch shows without even getting up and being bored. You know how short of an attention span I have. But I have kept my full attention on her. Because I like her. I want her to be mine._

_But you know, dreams to come to an end. I left her to return here and I have been stumped thinking about her._

He cleared his throat and Maddie watched with wide eyes. He's talking about her. Did he truly feel this way about her and she was too focused on getting away from him that she did not have the slightest idea of his feelings!

_So, chickadee. You know who you are. If you are watching this video. I want you to know that I miss you and if we meet again, be prepared for me to make you mine. Please reply back to this video if you watch it. I will be waiting._ Gilbert scratched his head and he was blushing bright.  _Ah! I want to say more but the video will be longer! Um, I really want to call out your name to. But, ya know, I want to give you privacy. *sighs* Bye Liebling._ He reached for the camera and the video ended.

The phone almost fell out her hand but she gripped it harder. Her eyes welled with tears and she stared at the screen as droplets landed on it. Quickly wiping her eyes she locked her phone. She sniffed. "You dummy, how can I not talk to you now." she stood up and looked around. The sounds of the park were quiet and she noticed she was one of the only few left in the area.

* * *

_I love you love you love you_

_I call it fate_

_And I miss you miss you_

_You are my destiny_

* * *

On queue her phone rang and she answered it with a smile, "Al, I need your help." she said and she could see her brother smirking. "Find me Gilbert's email address."

"Roger, baby sis." He said, making her smile as they said goodbye. The sun was setting, hues of orange, violet, and pink mixed together into the darkening blue sky and Maddie moved her feet in the direction of her house. She had many things to do now.

First and foremost, it is time to think of what to say to Gilbert. Then, with as much disdain in doing so, it's time to reply back to Louis.


	12. I Miss You (part 2)

**\- Chapter 12 -**

_**I Miss You (part 2)** _

* * *

"Al" Arthur was watching his husband look through a file in his small office. The British man was working on assignments for his lectures when his husband interrupted him by sitting down beside him in an extra rolling office chair. The file was now spread out on the oak desk, the teacher giving his husband a look of aggravation. This was the only time he had to get this in order before he submitted it to the board. "You could have used your own office, you know. What is that anyway?"

"I need an extra pair of eyes." he responded, "I am looking for an email address." Alfred flipped a page over, scanning the information that he highlighted for some reason that Arthur did not know.

Giving in, he stopped his own work and picked up a few papers from his husbands stack. Beginning to peruse through them he noticed the name and he wanted to facepalm his forehead. "Gilbert Beilschmidt. Do I have to ask?"

"I was investigating. You know I like to do background checks." he simply said. Alfred had a bad habit of checking everyone's information that they came across as suspicious or if they had anything to do with Alfred's sister and Arthur's sister-in-law Madeline Williams. This time, it was not about suspicion it seems. The older brother was more determined in getting her and this German vlogger and photographer into a  _relationship._ Honestly a lot of this confusion could be dealt with if Maddie messaged him through that Instapic account she rarely uses.

"Both of you siblings need a good whack to the head." The man huffed as he crossed his arms. "I'm going to call Maddie." The younger man looked up as the older British man pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket.

"What are you going to talk about?" The blue eyed man asked. Making Arthur sigh and a small smile fell onto his lips.

"I'm helping her." He said as he pressed her contact information and called her.

* * *

Back in Canada Maddie had made it to her house after her detour to the park when her phone started to ring again. The ringtone sounded familiar but she had not heard it in awhile. There was only one person in her phone that had the British anthem as their caller id. Fishing it out of her pocket she swiped to answer and placed it in the crook of her shoulder as she pulled out her keys. "Hello?"

"Hello Maddie." The woman entered her apartment and closed the door with her foot behind her. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

She hummed. "Of course."

The man cleared his throat and immediately she turned white in the face, instantly regretting saying she wasn't busy. Who knows how many times she heard that before Arthur scolded the hell out of Alfred for doing something absolutely stupid. So the question is...what did she do? "Wait wait!" she tried to stop him but it was too late.

"Maddie," she gulped when she listened to the way he called her name. Oh God, she did something. "I love you like you are my own sibling so I am going to say this as nicely as I can." he started. Maddie had the urge to hang up now. "You are stupid."

"Arthur!" she heard her brother's voice in the background and then a loud pop sound. The man must have hit her brother on the head with a book. His ultimate weapon of choice.

"Hush, I'm busy." she could feel the glare through the tone in his voice. "Now then where was I? Oh yeah, you are stupid. I hope you are sitting down because I am about to lecture you."

Maddie rushed to the couch and sat down. Fear evident in her face as she got comfortable. Or tried to. Even being miles away this man was scary. Probably because he was also her teacher in high school. "What I am about to say is out of love."

The girl braced herself for a long talk…

* * *

"And cut! Awesome," It was early in the afternoon when Gilbert finished his photo shoot. He had given the okay for the staff to start packing up when he placed his camera down on the table, moving his mouse to turn the screen on of his laptop. The pictures were already in a folder and he was looking through what he had taken with a smile on his face. They turned out good but he can see where he needed to edit a little. He took a sip of his cold coffee to get a boost as he got to choosing the best photos and separating them.

"Already working on them?" The man glanced over his shoulder.

"You know it." he grinned. A tall sandy brown hair woman walked over to him in a pair of black tights, a beige color sweater dress and a maroon pair of ankle boots. She greeted him with a pat on the shoulder as she pulled up a chair next to him.

"You've been working nonstop since yesterday." taking his coffee from him she slid the cardboard cup to the side, out of reach of the albino. "Wanna talk about what's on your mind?" her forest green eyes looked to her partner with a risen brow. Concern flashed across her face when he didn't respond. This man… She wanted to hit him. So stubborn and he ignored her too! What is wrong with him? "Are you regretting spilling your heart out to a girl you barely know?" The man froze as his eyes widened finally turning his full attention to her.

"W-wait, you saw it?!" he stuttered. "Liz!" he cried and it made her laugh at his reaction. Elizabeta Hedervary is Gilbert's best girl friend from his childhood and she is the one that he has gotten into trouble with. Basically she is his partner in crime. She knew all of his secrets, his regrets, his pain and sorrow. She knew when he was happy, concerned, frustrated, and everything in between. At this moment though, she had no clear idea of what has gotten into her friend. He has never been so brash before. Usually he thought about what he was doing and still did it if he knew it was the worst idea in the world. But this is the biggest most irrational move he has ever made. For the first time in a very long time she has know idea what has gotten into him.

"Gil, I follow you remember?" she shook her head as the white hair male blushed bright pink. "I know it was like, the stupidest move, but the world is watching it and judging you. Fan girls hearts have been broken, fanboys are calling you sappy and a hopeless romantic. It is too late to take it down now." Elizabeta crossed her arms again, pushing the chair back to give room for her feet as they swung on the table, feet crossing on top of the surface. The producer nearby was startled by her sudden action that he almost dropped the light he was carrying.

Sighing. Gilbert rubbed his temple. "You are in a dress." he stated and she shrugged.

"I don't see a problem." She got comfortable. Her friend rolled his eyes and looked back at the photos. What a tomboy.

"Your husband will throw a cow if he saw you this way." he blatantly stated. The girl rolled her eyes harder than before.

"Please." then she paused. "You won't tell him right?" Elizabeta gave him a side glance and he ignored her. "You know how Roderich gets."

"Yeah. Acts like a pansy that's never seen a woman's body before." he retorted.

"Not that. He likes girls that are mature and calm. He would have a heart attack if he saw me now." Moving her feet to cross them the other way, she adjusted her sitting position before looking at the monitor to watch her friend organize. "I'll treat you to dinner okay? I want to know all about this secret girl crush you have. She must be gorgeous."

"Yeah. She is." A smile was now on his lips and Elizabeta whistled low.

"Damn bro. You got whipped huh?" it came out so natural that it made Gilbert twitch and he almost pressed the delete key on a photo.

"Damnit Eliza!" he wanted to smack her like he did when they were kids. She acted like a boy and it wasn't until middle school did he find out about her real gender. It wasn't his fault, she played along and really acted like a dude! To this day she still acts like it but is more of a fearsome monster in a dress. "That's what drives Roddy up the wall!"

"You too." she grinned and that was when he realized she did it on purpose. To get on his nerves.

"Alright brat." she moved his leg under the chair leg and swiftly kicked it as hard as he could forward, watching his best friend have little time to react as she fell back on the ground with a loud thud. The staff nearby watched the yelling match ensue afterwards. But they continued working. By now, they were used to it happening randomly so they ignored the loud echoing smack that resonated the room as well. That had to hurt.

* * *

The next morning was not fun. Maddie had a throbbing headache that felt as if something would bust out of her forehead. Her body felt like lead and her eyes were puffy from all of the crying she did the night before.

Arthur's lecture was simple yet it drove her mad thinking about it. Do you love Gilbert? If you don't, stop leading him on and forget about him. If you do, then stop thinking about Louis. Let him go and do whatever you want in your life without him tying you down emotionally. That was the gist of the half hour lecture she received. It was an obvious talk that someone needed to give to her.

Alfred had told her many things but he is her brother and to put it bluntly, she blocked out half the nonsense he has said through their long conversations everyday.

Grabbing her glasses, she placed them on her face and looked at the clock. The clock read a few minutes after ten. Her phone had not rung at all at its usual time. Tapping her phone she frowned when there was no missed calls. Al had not called her. Did something happen?

Ungracefully pushing the covers she stumbled out of the bed and towards the bathroom she went to go take some pain meds, jump in the shower, and somehow make it through the afternoon ahead. Work was later in the evening unlike her usual shifts so she had a lot of time to waste. Or that's what she wished she would do.

After a long shower she jumped out with her fluffy towel in hand. Drying her hair she grabbed her phone and lazily deleted notifications, her thumb hovering over one she had not seen a while. Not many people contacted her through Instapic. Clicking it she waited for the browser to load as she popped on her glasses, wrapped her towel around her hair and walked out to her room, She grabbed the giant t shirt she had ready and slipped it over her head and towel monstrosity.

Plopping on the bed she watched the new follower and rose a brow. Wow, a model followed her? A foreign one for that matter! She clicked her profile and started to look a the photos. She looks amazing. It looks like she does a lot of indie shoots, some big ones too. Who's the guy with the glasses? Her husband huh? They look cute together.

She clicked the follow back link and smiled small. About to put her phone down a message was sent to her.

"What?" she was so surprised that she spoke out loud. Putting it closer to her face she read the message. The model messaged her?

" _Thank you for following me back! You seem like a great person and I wanted to become friends with you. You can call me Liz!"_ a heart emoji was sent after that and Maddie felt a small swell in her heart. So sweet!

"I'm Maddie. Nice to meet you Liz." she sent it and moved back to the messages, spotting one more. Gilbert Beilschmidt. Hesitant she clicked it and read the last thing he sent.

"I'm such a bad person huh?" Easily she replied back to a stranger but not to him. Gilbert really did care too. He even went so far to make a video to her and let the whole world see it. Maddie became nervous as she pressed the screen, watching when the keyboard popped up. Her hand started to shake and she almost tossed the phone. Unlike her body, her heart was confident in what she was about to do.

"No." Suddenly she pulled back. A message was not going to cut it! She wanted to be more creative with what she was going to say to him. So why not respond back in the only confident way she can.

Another message popped up from Elizabeta and she felt the courage in her body rise up. She had to get started on her message to Gilbert.

She had made up some of her mind. Still a little conflicted, she needed to take the first step and get it done.

Louis first, then Gilbert. By the end of the day she will have her answer.

* * *

"A reply~" Elizabeta sat in Gilbert's living room with a can of beer in her hand. With one hand she replied back to it and put it down on the couch arm. "Gil! Bring me another one!" she waved the now empty can.

"Shut up." He drawled out as he left the kitchen with three cans and a pizza box. "You've had five already. You aren't as young as you used to be." He set the food down and landed in the spot next to her. "Your hangover is going to be screaming at you when you get on your plane tomorrow back to Hungary." he handed her one can, the girl popping the tab as soon as she had it.

"Come on Gilly, I'll be fine." she slightly slurred as she dinked her can with his and took a giant gulp. "Whatcha watchin'?" she grinned as Gilbert had turned on his game console.

Gilbert snickered. "I'm a fan of it. You might be too drunk to read subtitles though."

"No I'm not!" she retorted. Gilbert shook his head as he searched the engine.

"Get ready, one episode is an hour long." He pressed the first episode and got comfortable. Elizabeta grabbed her phone and saw the message from the girl she had started talking to and grinned. Jokingly she turned the camera on and took a selfie with her beer can.

"What are you doing?" Gilbert asked and Elizabeta only smiled more.

"Sending Roddy a picture~" was all she said. Ignoring her, the albino rested against the couch and watched the opening sequence for  _Goblin_ with a small smile on his lips. He wondered if Maddie was doing okay.


	13. Winter is Coming

**\- Chapter 13 -**

_**Winter is Coming** _

* * *

The colorful pastel cobblestone streets and exotic flowers of Iseo, a small village in Italy, were filled with long time friends, newer acquaintances, and children playing in the street with a soccer ball. It was a small community full of artists who enjoyed there little village by the giant lake surrounding their border. It was the perfect place for a spark in inspiration full of beautiful scenery, a friendly atmosphere, and very encouraging personalities.

The only house that remained occupied was the little brownish rusty-yellow house at the end of the cove. Usually the tenant would be the first person out enjoying the weather. But alas, he had caught a cold. The weather changing messed up his health and instead of being outside having fun, he was stuck staring out his little rose colored glass window that viewed the front yard in interest, watching a couple of kids run by shouting and screaming in laughter. The large blanket was wrapped around his shoulders as he sat there with his legs curled under him. The smell of tea wafted into his nose and he smiled when he heard the creaking of the floorboards.

"The answer is still no." a rough Italian voice made the quivering sick man laugh lightly under his breath. Which made him cough.

"Ve. But Lovi, it looks fun." Feliciano Vargas turned to face his brother who held two mugs in his hands. One blue, one red. Holding his hand out he met halfway with the red mug, grabbing the bottom of it gently so it wouldn't spill and held it close to his mouth as he adjusted his hand. His brother found a spot on the empty part of the cushioned bench Feli sat on. Lovino, the younger twin of Feli, took the first sip of his drink.

"We can do it tomorrow. Only if you feel better." he scolded lightly. Feli chuckled. The noise from outside was all that echoed through the living room. They drank their tea for a few minutes of comfortable silence until the younger twin set his mug down on the window sill.

"It's been awhile since we've seen each other." he started, "is the potato bastard taking care of you?"

"Si." he grinned now. "you should come visit our new house! It's so big and spacious. The kitchen is humongous!" he gestured wide with his arms. "I'm sure Luddy would love you there!"

Lovino scoffs slightly. His brother was always too exuberant and expressive for his own good. How Ludwig, a stone faced serious guy, fell for his ball of sunshine brother is beyond him. "Yeah, I will consider it." he said. "Now the other question is why you waited months to tell me about your trip." his eyebrow twitched. Feli called and talked his ear off constantly but for some unknown reason, the boy never talked about his vacation to Canada.

"I wanted to tell you in person" setting his cup down too he pulled the blanket around him more. "I'll start from the very beginning."

* * *

" _Luddy!" Bouncing around the apartment they shared, Feliciano carried his laptop into the bedroom. Ludwig was reading a book in bed since it was late at night. The interruption made him jump but not as bad as he used to be. He still couldn't get used to Feli bursting into rooms unannounced even after three years._

" _What is it?" he asked as he slowly put his book face down on the bedside table. The Italian boy walked over to the bed and sat down. The laptop was set in between them._

" _Let's go on vacation together." Feliciano smiled wide. He pointed to the screen that showed a website._

" _It says…" the German blonde leaned forward to read the title, "Montreal. You want to go to Canada?" he rose a brow. America is the first choice for many when it comes to vacation. But of course, Feli is Feli. He most likely didn't want it to be too crowded or he'll get lost like the multiple times he did before when they traveled together._

" _Si, it sounds interesting. I've started choosing places already." he pulled up another tab and Ludwig took control of the navigating, looking at the contents and scrolling down the page._

" _Alright." he nodded and Feli grinned, jumping in his spot before lunging at his boyfriend and tackling him onto the bed. "Fe-oof!" he groaned when he met fabric of the white t-shirt the assailant._

" _We're gonna have so much fun~"_

* * *

"Okay, and potato bastard number two was invited for what reason?" Lovino interrupted.

"Ve, Luddy didn't want to leave him by himself. He had gone through a rough patch with work so he wanted him to go along with us."

* * *

" _Who the hell wants to go to Canadia?" Gilbert's small apartment was littered in clothes, random beer cans, and crumpled paper balls. Instead of cleaning it up for his guests he was resting on his sofa with a large scowl etched in his face. An ice pack rested on his cheek and he was wanting to punch something...again._

_Apparently he had a squabble at a photoshoot with one of the models and they ended up hitting each other. It was satisfying when he punched the annoying asshole in the face, as he put it, but the result of it made him curse. Gilbert was relieved from work for the time being until he learned his lesson, which made the albino more pissed off at the world._

" _Canada." Ludwig corrected as he sat in the only empty seat while Feliciano was picking up the mess little by little so there could be room to walk around if need be. "I think you need to time to relax, even if it is Canada."_

" _Take the offer!" a blanket was tossed on the back of the couch and the red eye man watched as more random blankets flew onto him. "I promise you'll enjoy it."_

_Annoyed by the flying fabric, Gilbert removed the ice pack and gripped it tight in his fists. A nasty blue bruise was visible on his cheek. He sat up now, moving to where his back rested against the couches armrest. "What's the point of going to a country that apologizes too much and says aboot?"_

" _Stop being a stick in the mud." Ludwig bluntly said and it shocked the older Beilschmidt._

" _You can't call me that! You're the stick in the mud!"_

" _Luddy, Gil, calm down. It's okay." Feli sat down on the side of the couch that Gilbert's feet laid and he moved them out of the way. "We all need a trip to relax."_

" _You can go be lovey dovey and stuff." Gilbert waved his hand at both of them. "I'll stay here and call Elizabeta up."_

" _You know her husband hates you right?"_

_Gilbert stuck his tongue out, "Roddy can kiss my a-"_

" _Bruder!" Ludwig cut him off just in time before he could insult the Austrian man._

" _It'll be fun." Feli started again, "Besides, you might meet someone you will like~"_

_Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Doubt it."_

" _We are going and you are coming along." Ludwig finalized and the only thing that resounded the apartment was a loud groan._

* * *

Loving scoffed. "What a pain in the ass."

Feliciano shook his head, "When we got there he felt a lot better. He was only reluctant since he hadn't been on a vacation in years." he finished off his mug and set it to the side on a table, "now, this is the fun part."

"Oh great, who got in trouble." Lovino rose a brow.

"Well, Gilbert of course. Who else would it be?" Feli snickered at his own remark. "He had gotten into a fight at a hockey game we went to."

"Hockey? Why the hell-"

Holding up his hand the auburn man stopped his brother quick before he lost his train of thought. "I'll get there."

* * *

" _What is the matter with you?! You're lucky you were let off the hook because you were defending someone! I overheard that man was a politician's relative. This isn't Germany, we would have been deported immediately because of what you did if it was just for fun!" the scolding continued in random spurts of anger. The three tourists were in their hotel room in Montreal after the hockey game extravaganza, Feliciano and Gilbert sitting on the bed as the blonde German stormed around with flailing arms and a red face. The Italian was a little jumpy when the voice boomed but Gilbert didn't move at all. He had been staring at the small phone in his hand and appeared dazed. Tuning out the yells with skilled practice._

" _He saved a poor girl Luddy." Feli tried to defend him but all he got in return was sputters and more reasons to be mad. Sighing in defeat he glanced at Gilbert who was preoccupied with the phone in his hand. The albino tried the power button and went wide eye when it started up, but when it glitched off he groaned audibly. This alerted Ludwig who stopped and glared at his brother with a steel gaze._

" _Don't act that way, what you did was wrong!"_

" _What the hell are you talking about?" and that sparked another stream of retorts, the two siblings arguing with each other as Feliciano watched on. Gilbert managed to see a few things on the phone before the battery died. The mystery girl lived in Quebec. How interesting. That was next on his list to check out while here. So maybe they will see her again and return her phone._

* * *

"I know this part." Lovino interrupted, "this is when he ran off without you two. I called you this day."

"Ve, he did. He wanted us to have alone time. It was sweet at the time until we got the call about the real reason."

* * *

" _Hey guys, having fun?" the couple sat in an Internet cafe watching the computer screen. Gilbert wanted to video call them about some advice. Which was rare. He wasn't one to blatantly ask for help._

" _We are." Ludwig answered, "what about you?"_

" _I'm doing great. Guess who I found?" a smile flashed across his face now and the couple were surprised. They hadn't seen him this happy in a long time._

" _Who?" Feli asked._

" _The mystery girl." when Gilbert said that the Italian boy felt a grin widen on his lips._

" _That's great! Quebec is giant, you got very lucky."_

_He nodded through the screen and the smile slipped a little and the nervous eyes set in which was noticed by the two as soon as the shift happened. "I need some help."_

* * *

"He asked for love advice?" the shock apparent in the man's tone was noticeable. "I can't believe it."

"We were surprised too. Apparently he liked her from the very beginning when he saved her. Her and Gilbert are the complete opposite of each other; she's quiet, he's loud, she likes to keep things on the down low while Gil wants everyone to know his business."

Lovino gave a curt nod. "Whats her name?"

"Madeline Williams." Lovino pulled out his phone and searched his pictures before flipping his phone around to his brother. Feliciano had taken a picture with Madeline a few days before they left Canada. They had just finished having dinner so they were dressed in semi casual clothes posed in front of the restaurant they ate at. The girl wore a simple red sweetheart cut dress with her hair in a groomed ponytail over her shoulder. She had a shy smile on her lips as Feli hung onto her. "She's so cute~"

"I did not expect her to look like this. She looks so...innocent."

Feliciano nodded. "She is."

"His approach was too strong and that's why she hasn't messaged him or called him." the brother stated with a small frown as the phone was pulled away.

"You think so?" They sat in silence for a moment until the two brothers were met with a smell of pasta and baked goods, making them sigh in hunger. The neighbors were distributing food since it was close to dinner time and simultaneously their stomachs growled in hunger.

"Damn, I'll have to go get us some food." Lovino got up, grabbing the empty mug from Feli before going to the kitchen to drop them off in the sink. "Stay there." He reprimanded, wagging his finger at him and left the house to go see the neighbors real quick. As for the older brother, he had wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders as he reached across to the coffee table, his phone lighting up when he grabbed it. Ludwig had messaged him, he had a few notifications from his photography social media, and he smiled wider when he saw a little icon that he hasn't seen much of lately. Clicking it he waited for the page to load up. Almost immediately the browser page loaded to simple, pristine blog with a cute polar bear aesthetic. There had been a new addition to the design since last time which he found cute. Ice Bear from the kid show was on the main homepage holding a rose and it made the Italian coo at how cute it was.

The blog he followed is the reason he chose Canada in the first place. All of the attractions, the food, even the hockey game were suggestions from some posts he read over the last year.

He hovered over the posts button and clicked on it, loading up the new post that had been recently published. With a smile he read it. What a strange title, he thought to himself.

To him.

Feliciano scanned the writing and when he finished he was slightly confused. Then he started again. It was a short and straight to the point.

_'I'm sorry I haven't contacted you. But I will soon. Hang tight, I have some business to take care. Wait for me.'_

Why would she post this on her site? It didn't really make sense if you read through her other updates. Looking at the bottom he noticed an error and his eyes widened. Grasping the phone tighter he read it again.

"Maddie to Gil" Feliciano murmured.

Maddie was the writer of his favorite blog. It had to be. Who else was named Maddie and knew a boy named Gil?

He needed to tell Gilbert immediately .


	14. Round and Round (part 2)

**\- Chapter 14 -**

_**Round and Round (part 2)** _

* * *

The blank email composition seemed to be laughing in Maddie's face as she trained her violet eyes on the blinking cursor, waiting for words to type out by itself. She had lost count of the times she read Louis's out of the blue message to her. The words seemed to haunt her even at work today. She knew it was time to reply back and stop procrastinating.

" _Get lost_ " delete.

" _Leave me alone_ " delete.

" _I don't want to talk to you_." Delete delete delete.

She had many things to do. Like actually grow a backbone and message Gilbert. It shouldn't be this hard. At all. She makes it more complicated then it has to be. Just tell Louis you despise him for cheating on you and move on!

" _Do you feel bad? You should, you cheating bastard_." Aggressive deleting ensued.

The screen continued to mock her and with a swift tap of the heel of her foot, the laptop was shut and she stood up. The clock on her wall was broken so she looked to the green light on her stove. It was only six o'clock. She had only been home from work for about two hours.

Stomach growling, she mechanically moved to the kitchen. It had been yelling at her and she had been ignoring her hunger to think of something to write back with. Obviously that was a waste of time. She could have been stuffing her face with delicious warm pizza or egg rolls right about now.

Blowing the long strand of blonde hair out of her face she grumbled to herself as she moved to the fridge. Expecting a feast to appear, the disappointment was present on her face as she glared at bare shelves. All she had was a bag of milk, a loaf of probably moldy bread, and two water bottles that have been drank out of then stuck back in after they grew warm. She needed to go to the grocery store. Pushing the door shut, her phone was already in hand looking at the delivery app. Chinese sounded good.

The notification on her phone sounded and a screen popped up as she finished pressing the obnoxious amount of egg rolls she wanted. Her new model friend Elizabeta had replied back to her. It must be daytime where she is at. Or early morning. She didn't actually know the time difference so she'll look it up later.

' _Hello Maddie! I'm sorry about the late reply. I have been busy with work~_  ' followed by cute random emojis.

Madeline replied, ' _It's fine. I am where you left me_.'

Instant reply,  _'Girl, you need some friends_ '

' _I have my coworkers to talk to but they are very busy to hang out after work_ ' Maddie quickly ordered some food before plopping down in her nest. She had made a crease in the couch. Wow, what a couch potato.

Elizabeta messaged back quickly, ' _Do you not have a boyfriend_?' it was a honest question and she probably meant no harm by it, but Maddie wanted to ignore the question all together. She told herself she would find an interest this year but of course she missed her chance by being a sentimental wuss about her jerk of an ex-boyfriend. Well…ex-fiance. Smacking her cheeks lightly to stop her self-berating, she replied back without thinking too much about her failure.

' _I'm not the best with relationships_.' The awkward pause between replies made Maddie release a shaky breath. She really needed to grow up at this point. It had gotten so ridiculous she had to have her old high school English teacher/brother-in-law tell her so.

Every time her love life came up she froze in fear. It had been three years. That should be enough time to find a new boyfriend. One who was a decent human being. Oh wait. That did happen.

For once she had the grace of good luck fall on her side, dropped her future off at her feet, and she blew it. Blew it!

Gilbert was a great guy. He was fun to talk to, had a job that he enjoyed, his sense of humor was tolerable, and he even sat through a long foreign drama with her bawling her eyes out and squealing like a little girl with a school crush. If he sat through sixteen episodes plus bonus features than she messed up big time for not even setting up a proper date when he was in town. And lastly, if she just texted him from her social media, this wouldn't be a problem! Stupid, stupid!

Too busy insulting herself she failed to notice her messages go off and she was knocked out of her thoughts when the phone vibrated in her hand. Staring at it she opened Elizabeta's reply.

' _No one is bad a relationships~_ ' it was simple and straight to the point. Another message came soon after, ' _do you have a person you are interested in?_ '

'Ummmmm...maybe' Which is true. Her crush had been flip flopping for a few months now. She vowed, that day in the park, that she would not fall for Gilbert. Yet here she is thinking about him and it was the beginning of November.

Counting this day, it had been about three months since she saw Gilbert. Two months since she had seen the video, and a day since she had posted her blog post that he would probably not read because she never told him about her blog in the first place.

' _Maybe? Maybe means yes in my book! Who is the guy? Is he cute? Or is he an asshole._ ' Gasp! emoji. Maddie shook her head as she said yes and no to answer the model's questions. This went back and forth for what seemed like forever to Maddie. This girl was exploding her phone up with such random questions which surprisingly she knew some of the answers to. Huh. During the summer she learned a lot about him.

Yup, she liked him. Curse her and her forever pushing away good guys so she could cry and be emo.

Her phone dinged and it showed her food was almost to her house. Time to get up and greet the take out guy now. She needed some brain food for the inevitable 'girl' talk she and her model friend will have. Another message came through and Maddie sighed. It's going to be a long night.

* * *

The cramped Berlin apartment was in almost complete darkness. The only lights was from a phone screen and a lamp that sat on a bedside table in the small bedroom. Illuminating the space you could see the room was an organized mess. A poster of a few German rock bands were on the walls, along with a bookshelf of DVD's, a tank model unfinished on the work desk, recording equipment was jammed into a corner out of view behind the large dresser next to the window, and a Prussian flag that hung off the door. Other than those objects, the room was a minimalist style. Black and white everything; pillows, blankets, furniture, rugs, and even the clothes piled near the door matched the theme. This was the messy room of Gilbert Beilschimdt. The man Maddie could not stop thinking about. In his case, he could not stop thinking about her either.

He was sitting on his bed holding his smartphone above his head as he laid down. He read a passage and with his thumb he scrolled down the page. Focused on the screen he reached the bottom and pressed the arrow to read the next post. His eyes felt like they were going to melt from the LED screen. Knowing he hadn't had a wink of sleep was catching up to him, he refused to go to bed. Not yet. He had been trying to catch up to the latest update of this writer Maple.

Just by reading this website he found out some minor (and some major) details about Maple's life. Apparently they started this during college as a past time when they weren't doing homework and to practice their writing. They had graduated with a degree in journalism and continued writing in it after school was over. Apparently they had a fiance who was named Cari (another Canadian joke; short for caribou). This is where he started to differentiate who was a boy (Cari) and a girl (Maple).

After a certain post about going to get married she had simply mentioned that she was moving away from New York, her home for the past five years and planted herself Canada, a place she had wanted to live in for awhile.

A brother was mentioned a few times. Nothing about her parents. And from then on after she moved she just wrote replies to submissions and the sort.

After nonstop reading years of this online diary he finally made it to the recent post that had brought this to his attention in the first place. The one his fabulous Italian future brother-in-law sent to him yesterday. He had to thank him with a gift or a kiss, depends on how broke he is the next time he sees him.

The only reason he would even read something for this long is for the message that was posted not even a day ago. Short, simple, and after reading all of the posts, it made sense.

He can understand a little about why she hadn't contacted him. Something happened in New York. Probably from her ex-fiance. It had been years since he was last written about so Gilbert can only assume that they had a falling out and she left his ass. But as a result for not leaving her feelings behind, she was stuck in the constant loop of wanting to get in a relationship but at the same time she is stopping herself by pushing him away. Those are only assumptions, of course. To know exactly what happened, he had to message her and ask.

Which at this point, he can't bring himself to do. He was going to be patient, damn it, until she was ready. She told him to wait so he will do just that.

He cursed loud as he locked his phone and dropped his aching arm. Shutting his eyes immediately he felt his phone vibrate. Too tired to care he tossed it to the end of his bed and stretched. He had to be at a shoot that afternoon. He'll try to sleep until then.

Exhaustion consuming him Gilbert fell asleep. Completely knocked out cold to the point he didn't see his phone light up with another text from his long time model friend. Two simple texts he is going to regret not reading as soon as they came through.

' _I'm on the plane to Canada now~_ '

' _This is my first time going to Quebec. What should I do when I get there?_ '

* * *

Morning time at the Kirkland-Jones starts off about 9 a.m. on the weekend and Alfred, being the early bird he is, had been cleaning the house for awhile and made sure it was spotless with no cat fur flying around or even a piece of clothing stuck somewhere since Captain liked to steal socks and nest with them. When half past ten rolled around he had started making breakfast. Last weekend it was English, now it was American style since they alternate what type of breakfast they have because a consensus was never made on which is better.

He was close to being done when he received a call from his favorite sister in the whole wide world. She wasn't one to call first but he hadn't had a chance to talk to her as of late and she most likely got fed up with his change in pace and called him instead.

"Sorry, I got busy at work" Alfred moved around the kitchen with a plate of pancakes in one hand and he balanced the phone between the crook of his neck while he opened the fridge. Pulling out the carton of orange juice with the other he responded, "Don't scold me. I get enough of that." he pouted as he bumped the door close with his hip. Moving to the table he set down the plate and juice.

"Why did you freak out? Geez, I forget to wake you up a couple of times and you think I'm dead." staring at the table he tried to remember what he forgot. Snapping his fingers he headed back to his pantry while his younger sister talked to him through the phone. "I didn't call you to be yelled at. I was wondering when you were coming to visit me?" The man opened the door and the jar of Canadian maple syrup Madeline sent him a few weeks ago was in hand. She had gotten spoiled with the pure maple syrup compared to the 'sugary abomination' that America sold. Aunt Jemima does not need to be insulted.

Arthur walked in with a newspaper under his arm and he groaned. The bags were prominent under his eyes. He barely slept due to grading papers and essays. Trying to get all of his work done in one sitting is taking a toll on his sleep schedule. The one and only reason he got up was for breakfast. Alfred preferred cooking Saturday morning compared to the other days so he knew he would get a good meal today. He sat down in his usual seat at the end of the table, his green eyes glancing at his husband who placed the syrup down beside him. He couldn't catch what he was talking about so he turned to moving his plate of pancakes closer. The rest of the spread was the usual eggs, bacon, grits sans the tiny bowl of oatmeal just for him, and the choice of coffee, orange juice or milk. After a few minutes Alfred finally sat down placing his phone to the side. The British man sipped his coffee slowly as he shook his newspaper out to straighten it.

"What did Madeline need?" he asked and Alfred smiled small. He could tell he was tired as well. Both have been very busy at work so they could go on vacation this Christmas to Britain to visit Arthur's parents. Madeline usually went with them but she decided she wanted to stay home so she could earn extra money from the café.

"She called to check on me." Alfred grabbed his fork and knife, starting to cut the pancakes into pieces. "She thought I died."

"I am surprised she hadn't called earlier." Arthur responded as he scanned a part of the article.

"Apparently she had been busy too. She had been picking up shifts left and right for the past few months. So today may have been the only time she had to call."

Arthur hummed, looking at Alfred with a small frown, "Alfred. Maybe its time you stop calling her everyday." The man suggested and Alfred paused in his cutting to look at him. "You have been calling her everyday. Ever since you learned what...he did..." The name was a taboo in the house but Alfred knew who he was talking about.

"I want to make sure she is okay." He gripped the fork in his right hand tight. "I don't think I told you, but he is trying to talk to her again."

It felt like the temperature dropped in the room, because the older man felt his fingers go numb around his utensil. Until he felt the heat from the anger in his chest that burst through him almost immediately. Arthur was fuming mad though he tried to remain calm.

"Did Maddie respond?" he asked without his anger seething through his words. Both him and Alfred hated the man for cheating on her. The only difference was that Alfred was more worried about his sister, while Arthur was the more hot tempered one who got angry for both of them.

Alfred shook his head, trying hard to move the food to his mouth so it didn't grow cold, "She's hesitating."

"She needs to delete it." The teacher bluntly told him. "If she can't tell him to move on, I rather her delete it then keep it in her inbox."

"I told her that but she won't listen to me" he sighed as he shoveled some eggs into his mouth. Swallowing them he added on, "I'll stop calling her everyday after Christmas. I'll make it once a week. Is that okay?" he said and Arthur stared at him. Stressed blue eyes watched him making him frown. The man was selfless. He preferred to worry about other people than himself. Sometimes he pushed himself too hard and it worried Arthur to no end. This was no exception either.

"Okay." he nodded, "Now, after we finish eating I'll wash the dishes and you go back to bed to lay down and rest." The man picked up eating again and Alfred was going to reject the idea but after a small banter about worrying about his health from his British lover he decided to give up. The two settled back into eating their Saturday breakfast while Captain the black cat cuddled against Alfred's feet, waiting his turn to eat.

* * *

The airport was not that busy since most flights left in the morning so not many people were around. The time read a quarter past seven in the evening and Maddie stood at one of the airline waiting area with a nervous stance. She usually didn't like waiting at the airport for people. The only time she really did was for her family.

Today was different though. For one, she never met the person before. Second, it was out of the blue when she got the message that they would be in Quebec for the week for a photo shoot and vacation.

Pulling her glasses off she cleaned them with her cotton t-shirt, only to smudge the dirt more. She tried a different part of the fabric and wiped the residue off. Satisfied, she slipped them back over her eyes.

"Madeline?" The calling of her name made her jump in surprise. Whipping her head around she almost choked on her voice when she saw that beautiful woman staring at her with most beautiful emerald eyes. Her wardrobe and aura pronounced famous and she suddenly felt overwhelmed with those eyes staring at her poorly dressed self. She dressed for comfort yet it felt like she was in drab.

"Y-yes. Hello!" she squeaked. "U-um, you're Elizabeta?"

The woman smiled and Maddie felt her body swoon. Who knew she would be talking to a famous model? "It's so good to finally meet you! Did you drive here?" she asked.

"A-ah, I took a taxi. Sorry." Maddie apologized. Elizabeta smiled small and grabbed the Canadian girl's hand with both of hers.

"I have a ride waiting, you can come with me." The woman guided her to the exit without a proper answer from Madeline. She just went with the flow. They made it out of the door to see a limousine and the driver waiting for them. Elizabeta greeted the driver and he opened the door for her, the model climbing in. With a gentle tug from her, Maddie reluctantly climbed in. The door was shut behind her, Maddie snapped out of her reverie when the woman sitting next to her started to laugh.

"D-did I do something?" she asked. The model only shook her head as she pulled out her phone.

"No." she smiled. "I did~" Leaving the confused blonde to her thoughts, the Hungarian woman instructed the driver where she was going and they were off. A sly smile slipped on her face as she saw the stream of messages from her best friend and a few missed phone calls. Unlike her poor friend, she could pay for her phone to go international. She could also call him. But to make him even more jealous she'll just send him pictures of her and the her cute little friend next to her who looked like she was going to faint any second. What a fun trip this was going to turn out to be.

* * *

"Damn her." Gilbert held the large coffee cup in his hand as he stared at his messages that were left unanswered for about an hour now. The shooting space was mostly vacant of other people so he had the whole room to himself. Director of the magazine was late, along with the rest of the crew. With his time alone, he was wallowing in regret for not checking his phone before going to sleep. But damn he was tired and needed his beauty rest before work with an insufferable model today.

Why did his so called best friend not tell him beforehand that she was going to the one place he had been trying to save money for? She was messing with him. She knew he would want to go with her. Being the troll that she is, she told him the day she got on the plane. Thinking about it made him agitated.

Putting the phone to the side at his workstation he decided to check his equipment. No one else decided they wanted to come on time, which was fine by him. Gilbert wanted to look things up on the internet and start planning his next trip to visit Maddie. Ticket prices, hotel costs, food, and everything in between might be cheaper if he took someone with him. Not a lot of ad revenue was coming in and work was growing slow. He needed to upload more videos. Although he still got a little bit of money off his confession video.

Judging by that subtle message at the end of Maple's post he knew she watched his blatant confession to her. The warm feeling in his stomach returned when he thought of Madeline and what her reaction was when she watched him spill out his feelings like a total fool. Or maybe it was the coffee talking. He wasn't sure this time. But maybe two cups of coffee back to back was making him jittery and sick at the same time.

Groaning even louder when he stared at his bank account and the prices, his phone vibrated and this time he picked it up. In large caps was his friend's name and an attachment. He pressed it and when it finally opened he enlarged the image. Eliza was sitting in a limo. How extra. Rolling his eyes but then he looked in the background of her selfie and his eyes squinted a little. Who was that?

Right after his thought, another picture came through and his heart almost leaped out of his throat. The passenger was just not some random person. Although it was a side profile he could tell who it was. Long blonde hair that appeared to be tangled from nervous actions. Comfortable clothes, a t-shirt and jeans that would have looked ugly if it was on someone else. The bright violet orb that he missed staring into so much was looking down at her lap and he knew she was messing with her hands.

The blonde woman was beautiful, funny, and not by his side. Instead, she sat next to the conniving Hungarian devil who was sheepishly smiling at him. He knew she is laughing right now and his poor little birdie is so innocent looking, asking her what was funny.

This is why she didn't tell him.

"I'm going to fucking kill you Liz."


	15. Stuck In Love (part 2)

**\- Chapter 15 -**

_**Stuck In Love (part 2)** _

* * *

It was late at night and Maddie was preparing for bed when the most unusual thing occurred. She heard a knock from the front door. It was weird for many reasons. She hadn't called delivery or had anybody she know coming by. Was it a burglar checking if she was home or not? Who could it be?

Slipping her pajama pants on she walked out into the hall with a hockey stick in hand. It might scare the perp away. Cause going in alone without a weapon won't even intimidate a child. Nervous, she gripped the stick and slowly moved to the door and another knock sounded, making her jump.

Reaching the door she heard shuffling and she readied herself. With a short exhale she peeked through the peephole to see what burglar was courteous enough to knock. It was then that she noticed that it wasn't some thug coming to rob. Immediately she unlocked the door and swung the door open. "You scared me!"

With a sheepish smile Elizabeta waved. Over her shoulder was what looked like an overnight bag with a hairbrush sticking out one of the pockets. The model was already in simple but cute pj's with her hair in a messy braid over her shoulder. She wore the fluffiest pair of pink slippers Maddie had ever seen. "Sorry," she apologized but it sounded unconvincing, "I messaged you but you never answered. So I decided to show up!" she presented herself and the blonde girl could feel dread fall on her. She can't turn her away now. She came all the way from her hotel to her house in pajamas. The limo probably just dropped her off too without questioning why a beautiful young model was going out at an ungodly hour...in her pajamas. Maddie couldn't get over the fact. Plus it was November, the temperature in Canada is no joke.

Three days have passed since the Hungarian woman arrived in Quebec. Maddie became the tour guide of the city and when she wasn't working, she was with Elizabeta. Her co-workers Katyusha, Natalia, and Ivan were mesmerized with the beauty who came to pick her up yesterday that even the childish Ivan wanted to talk to her. Wait, that was put too lightly. Flirt, right. She never knew the man was capable of flirting up a storm until a goddess walked into his store. It was also the same day she flashed a giant diamond in their faces proclaiming her love was only for one man only.

Of course she's married, was the thought which flashed through Madeline's mind as she comforted a dejected giant Russian man with a side hug.

After much deliberation the blonde girl opened the door wider, welcoming her in and Elizabeta grinned. Stepping in to the house it was almost so quick and swift that Maddie barely caught the glimpse of a container in her friend's hand. Shutting the door she heard the breaking of a tab on a can and she barely rolled her eyes.

There were a couple of things that she has learned so far about her internet friend Elizabeta. One, she is spontaneous. If she wants to do something right at that very moment, she'll do it even if she is doing a completely different task. Second, she loves to talk. A lot. The first day in the limo her ear was talked off so much that when she actually got to her quiet abode, she could still hear the girl's voice ringing in her ears. Lastly, she likes to drink. So much that she is surprised she isn't an alcoholic. And doesn't have a beer belly. Right after she got off the airport property and rode to the hotel, she had pulled out a bottle of whiskey from the drink compartment and had finished half of it before they exited the car. One day she'll see who can hold their alcohol better, her or her coworkers. But she had a feeling all of them would be down for the count if they competed against one another in a drinking contest.

Elizabeta plopped down on the couch with her beer in hand as she watched Maddie lock the door back, "You seem comfortable," she started with a widening grin. "I never took you as the type of girl to answer the door in a sports bra."

Blinking she registered what she said and stared down. Sure enough she was in her black sports bra showing off body. Madeline's hands covered her chest fast, moving in between her exposed skin in a flurry. Red cheeks blooming on her face and wide eyed she shuffled back towards her room, "I'll be right back!" she squeaked. All that resounded through the house was a laugh from the model and the door shutting close to the bedroom. When it became quiet again the Hungarian woman set her beer down and looked around the house. Her phone was in hand and she was typing away on it fast.

"Thrift stores are her best friend." she had a long list of notes on her phone simply labeled 'Gil's Interest' and if anyone ever got a hold of her phone, no one could read it unless they were good at German. It is her second language after all. "She has good taste. She knows how to match at least." There was not much in the living room so she glanced into another room.

Standing up fast she visited the kitchen. Opening cabinets to see them bare. When was the last time the girl went grocery shopping? Closing them she opened the fridge and immediately closed it. "Empty. Glad I brought my own snacks." she hummed as the front of the fridge caught her eye. Tons of pictures hung precariously on it. How strange. Maybe she hasn't had time to buy frames for them. Squinting she examined each one with a small smile. "Cute cat." Elizabeta concluded before stepping back.

"Loves her family." she nodded and wrote more on her list. "No parents in sight. Looks like a brother and friend." then she stared some more at the pictures, erased the word 'friend' and put 'significant other'. "And a cute kitten in a Captain America suit." She cooed at how cute he was then moved to other pictures. There was one on the top that was by itself and she almost missed it. Moving the magnet away she plucked it off and a large smile grew on her lips. It was rare for Gilbert to take a good picture. He always moved around, made a stupid face, or flipped the camera off. But in this one, he looked so happy. Stress free.

Maddie and Gilbert stood in front of a shop. It looked like a Christmas shop or something. It looked familiar to Elizabeta but she shrugged it off. Maddie was wearing a white tank top with a black button up left open with its sleeves rolled up and jean shorts. Her long hair was in a ponytail on top of her head and it was blowing in the wind. Gilbert had the same color scheme. Black t-shirt with a white logo on the pocket and blue jeans. The pose was kind of awkward. She had her hand around his waist as his arm had wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close against his body as if squishing her. Feli must have taken the picture since Ludwig was not the best picture taker.

Elizabeta took a picture of the cute couple and she heard the door open from the back. Slipping the photo back on the fridge she moved back to the living room to see Madeline shoving her shirt down. Her hair was in loose pigtails and she had her own blue slippers on.

"Did you want some water?" she asked out of courtesy, "So you don't get a headache from the beer."

The woman snorted a little. "I'll be fine. I have to drink at least twenty before I start feeling sick." she grinned. Making Maddie shake her head in disbelief. Of course she didn't drink now. Though back in college she had a few alcoholic drinks. Ever since then she hadn't had a drop of it. The taste was nasty.

Elizabeta jumped onto the couch once more and grabbed her beer. It took a few seconds of shuffling around and grabbing a white fluffy blanket off the back of the love seat for the blonde girl to get comfortable. She pushed up her glasses on the bridge of her nose, sniffling a little as she sat down.

"Did you want a beer?" Elizabeta offered and was rejected with a small no, making her pout.

"I haven't had beer in a long time. It tasted bad." She admitted snuggling into her blanket. She heard a snap of a picture being taken and she semi glared at Elizabeta who was pretending to not know what she just did. "You keep taking pictures of me in my worst states." she pouted with wide puppy eyes.

"Aw," she pat the top of her fluffy blonde hair, "I'm not sorry." Removing it she pulled up her camera roll. Almost fifty photos of Maddie. She'll choose the best ones, send them to her albino friend and watch him writhe in pain and yell because she is here and he is not. God, she loved herself for being a bitch. Maybe it'll get his ass to hurry up and get over here. "I have to commemorate my trip to Canada with my friend~"

"Uh-huh" she didn't like that look in her eyes. "Now that you're here, I have some questions for you." she said as she positioned herself with her blanket over her legs as she leaned against the couch arm, staring at Elizabeta chugging her beer. "Why did you add me as a friend on Instapic?" The random friend request and messages made it a little bit suspicious. No one ever followed her since she barely post on it and she can count her followers on her fingers. So what is the reason?

Exhaling, refreshed, Elizabeta smirked. "You should check my mutual friends." Maddie rose a brow again as she looked around for her phone. It was on the coffee table on the other side. She didn't want to get up. But she wanted an answer. Begrudgingly she slid off the edge of the couch and reached for it, swiping it up and unlocking it. The message from Elizabeta was there so she clicked on it, moving to her profile picture and accessing the profile. Elizabeta Hedervary. The followers was to the side. Usually when they followed the same people the name would be listed first. Who is their mutual friend? After one final press the screen loaded and her eyes almost bulged out of her head. Right there. The very first person they share together. It was Gilbert Beilschmidt.

"Y-y-you know!-" she choked. Elizabeta popped two beers and shoved one of them into Madeline's hand that was outstretched.

"It's time for a talk, don't you think?" she grinned.

* * *

Seven beers for the brunette and three beers for the blonde later, the girls were laughing on the couch having a grand old time. They were mostly talking about the person of interest Gilbert. Maddie mostly listened but she pitched in every once in awhile to try and defend him as Elizabeta decided she wanted to trash talk her best friend.

"He decided he wanted to steal a car!" the once poised woman was a slurring drunk mess as she down some more of her lukewarm beer, "and the bastard almost did after three bottles of rum!" she laughed maniacally and Maddie wished, just for once, that she would lower her voice. It drummed loud through her brain and she wanted to cry at the slush feeling going through her head. Remember when she said she didn't drink alcohol? Well, that streak of not touching a drop had ended. What a bad influence Liz was... All she felt was regret now.

"I...guess I can see it. But he was so nice to me that I didn't even know there was a bad side." she slurred laying on the couch. Her cheeks were red and eyes disoriented as she tried to focus on the girl who laid opposite of her.

"Ha! I wish I could have been here, call him out on his romantic bullshit." she snickered. "He's the worst at flirting with chicks. You won't believe how many girls have slapped him because he pulled a really cheesy pick up line on them." Another beer down, the Hungarian woman laid back and stared at the violet eye girl with her emerald ones. "So, was all of that in the video true? He saved you from being choked by some fat lard politician?" The conversation suddenly turned to her and Maddie wanted to crawl away and hide. But her body felt sluggish. Doing anything right now like moving was nearly impossible.

"...Yes. It was my birthday and-"

"You almost got killed on your birthday!?" She exclaimed loud which made Maddie cover her ears on reflex. When the echo subsided she removed them and continued.

"My brother sent me tickets for my birthday for a hockey game. So I went to go watch it and the seats were extremely crowded on my team's side so I decided to move to the other side where the opponents were. I didn't have anything that said what team I was rooting for. I was just in normal clothes. So normal that the drunk guy didn't even notice I was there and hit me." she rubbed her head as she recalled the memory. "Next thing I knew I was being strangled."

"What a bitch. Give me a name." Elizabeta growled.

"I can't remember." She really couldn't. Honestly she wasn't even sure he was a politician. Perhaps a nephew of one or something of the sorts. "But I do remember Gilbert punching the guy and knocking him down." she smiled small at the memory, "No one else helped except him and one other guy." she sighed quietly.

"One thing you should know about Gilbert is that he likes fighting. Starting them or joining in." Elizabeta inputted. "What may have happened was he was going to join the fight for fun until he saw you and changed his motive from beating the man's ass to murdering him." She said it so casually that it threw Maddie through another loop. This girl was on a whole different spectrum compared to her.

"Maybe." she answered. "I don't know. But he did help me and I got into a taxi before the game even had a chance to start. When I made it home I realized I forgot to ask the guy's name and I lost my phone." she sighed. "Turns out Gilbert grabbed my phone, made it to Quebec, and coincidentally found me at my job. After that we were with each other all summer. It was so fun. I'm upset I couldn't plan a date."

"I mean...if that wasn't a big neon sign from the big man himself blinking in your eyes than I don't know what is." Elizabeta hummed. When the next question came out of her it wasn't as lighthearted.

"Do you like him romantically or are you dragging him through the mud for your own amusement?" Suddenly the mood changed in the room and the air felt dry. Elizabeta had turned serious in a blink of an eye and she appeared to be glaring at the girl across from her.

Think about where she is coming from. She is Gilbert's best friend. Therefore, as his friend, she has to make sure no one will ever shatter his soul and break his heart. He had a rough time in his pre-teens and she never wants him to go through with that again. Protecting him is high on her priority list.

Madeline Williams seems to be a sweet innocent girl who needs a little push in the right direction and motivation to do certain things. Maybe that wasn't the right question to ask. Elizabeta opened her mouth to ask another question when the blonde girl at the end of the couch spoke in a whisper yet she was able to catch it.

"I do like him, but what if I'm not what he expects?" she mumbled. "I have problems I'm trying to resolve yet I can't seem to bring myself to do it." The hurt in her words made the model clamp her mouth shut.

"Problems?" she asked after a long uncomfortable silence between them.

Maddie nodded as she set her beer can to the side, the can tipping on to the table but luckily it was empty. "I used to be engaged." she started, "Three years ago I left my ex-fiance because he cheated on me with my best friend at the time. Recently he emailed me asking to reconcile our friendship. He specified he didn't want to get back together but he implied. I've been in a standstill since then." she scoffed as she held her pulsing head. "It's stupid for me to even think I can be friends with him again and I am being held back. I don't think it's love for him but I think it's more on the track of I never told him how I felt about him cheating on me."

"I'm sorry, what?" A sneer was on her lips now, "He's a piece of shit!" She cursed loud, squeezing her can tight to the point it squirt out and dripped on her hand. The woman felt a mix of emotions. No one ever deserved to be cheated on. It did tie the pieces together on why she degraded herself to the degree of not being good at relationships. The whole thing was completely out of her control. Anything can factor in on why he cheated on her. But it was hard to believe that Maddie was the cause of his course of action.

"I know, it's stupid." The meek voice knocked her out of her thoughts. Maddie was getting tired from the beer. Slurring she carried on, "I worked all the time at my job and was barely home. When I was not at work I was at a friend's house helping them paint since they had some projects that needed some extra hands. We fought a lot when we lived together too because of me never being home. He might have thought that I was cheating on him and that resulted in him going to Diana." she sighed. "I just wish he trusted me enough to know I wasn't. Francis was like a brother to me." she mumbled sleepily.

With all of the information needed Elizabeta moved to the edge of the couch and almost fluid like she grabbed the silver laptop that was thrown onto the love seat during the drinking session earlier. Turning it on it only took a few seconds before it booted up with no password needed. How rare nowadays. The desktop popped up and she casually pressed the mail icon. "Well, we just have to fix that then now don't we? What's the bastard's name?"

"Louis.." Maddie closed her eyes as she adjusted her legs to stretch on the couch and Elizabeta typed the name down, her eyes glancing at her friend who seemed to have passed out from the alcohol intake. High gravity beer will do that to you if you haven't drank in years. With the girl snoozing away Elizabeta pulled up the email and read it. Now the only question was should she reply instead of Maddie? Might not be a good idea. That was out. Should she tell Gilbert about it. Maybe... Ah! Maddie should tell him! Groaning she stared at the email and sighed. The only thing she can do is...

Oh.

Oh that's good.

She checked the clock on the wall, rolled her eyes when she realized it was broken and looked into the kitchen to read the time. Two hours only and Maddie was down for the count. It read almost midnight and Elizabeta settled into a position with the computer on her knees and she began to browse.

Louis Blanchett huh?

She grinned wide.

She couldn't do much, but what she can do is tell him to back off from Maddie. And that's exactly what she is going to do.


	16. The Physics of Love

**\- Chapter 16 -**

_**The Physics of Love** _

* * *

It took a lot of persuading, pampering, and whining for Maddie to get to this point. With the relentless help of her brother and new now real life friend Elizabeta, she was sitting in front of her laptop with her fingers numbly typing on the keyboard. Her hyperactive moral support was not here physically but in spirit. The model's flight back home was not even thirty minutes earlier and she wished she would have stayed for this moment.

After that awful night of drinking, in Maddie's opinion, Elizabeta made herself right at home. She went as far as telling her manager they could have her old room. Which they gladly agreed to without hesitation. Thus, started the fun.

* * *

_The day after the drinking, Maddie had the worst hangover in existence. She never had one but if it was like the one she had that day, then she never ever wanted to drink again. The good gods blessed Elizabeta with keeping herself in order after a long night of alcohol annihilation. Still skinny, no headache, and was a ball of sunshine that forced Maddie to look away for her. She was tempted to wear sunglasses around just so that she can look at the model. God wasn't fair sometimes._

_When Maddie was mobile and able to stand up without support, she was served take out breakfast since, of course, she had not a single box of rice or anything for that matter to make food. The woman used the Canadian girl's cellphone to order since she had the app on easy access. How she got into her phone was a mystery and she didn't really have time to ask since the next thing she knew she was rushed to the shower. One nice hot steamy shower later Elizabeta raided her closet and dressed her up. It was a simple outfit which Maddie liked it. It only made her confused on why she was allowing her to dress her up in the first place. Probably because Elizabeta usually got her way no matter what. Which is a strong attribute this woman had. A little scared of it, Maddie admired it at the same time._

_With a sign of approval from the model, she was told that she was going to take her shopping and relieve some stress by spending money. Which they did. A lot. Way more than Maddie wanted to. But Elizabeta was too persuasive for her own good. No wonder she got whatever she wanted._

_A lot of bantering and regret later, five shopping bags were in each of their hands as they grabbed a taxi home. Before they could make it, the model stopped the car in front of a building that Maddie couldn't really see the name of. Not until she got out. It was a place she had meant to go to for years now and if Elizabeta even stopped the car to usher the girl towards it, then it must be time._

_After a long hour of cutting, styling, and yanking, her long disgusting unkempt hair was no longer there. Instead the locks of blonde and brown was right above her shoulders in a small bob. It was still wavy and a few curls that were more lively and bounced when she walked stuck out. Her giant curl in front of her forehead was kept since Elizabeta thought it looked cute._

_Being broke from the shopping trip, the model offered to pay for it. Again, for the second time, they grabbed a taxi and headed to Maddie's apartment._

_The next day was a little bit more serious. After a busy schedule of modelling on Elizabeta's plate and Maddie working at the cafe, they finally huddled in the living room after changing into pajamas. Soft music played on the radio as they ate together of sandwiches and chips from Maddie's job._

_After a quiet dinner the girls relaxed on the couch for a bit before Elizabeta brought up a rather out of the blue conversation topic. The words that came out of her mouth made Maddie choke._

_"I talked to Louis." she said so casually as if it was not the most traumatizing words to ever come out of her mouth and for Maddie to hear. An awkward silence followed and for a moment it looked like the Canadian girl was broken. Unresponsive. System malfunctioning. That's what was showing on her face. But Elizabeta didn't notice as she was concentrating on picking under one of her nails._

_"When?" it was hoarse as her mouth had suddenly gone dry like a desert._

_"During break." she shrugged and Maddie was ready to faint. She talked to him today. What is she thinking?! Why did she do that? How did she even know which Louis it was! There are plenty of men in this world named Louis Blanchett. Oh, she wanted to have a mental breakdown._

_"It was disappointing." those words made the blonde look up with a gaping mouth._

_"Why?" The gobsmacked girl could only ask questions, her head still reeling rapidly at what she heard._

_"He gave in so easily. No challenge, nothing." she sighed. "I messaged him on his email." she smirked. "I wrote it down when you opened your laptop before work. Thank you for that." she stated since it looked like Maddie was thinking along the lines of 'how did you mail him?'_

_"And...what did he say?" her heart started to beat faster in her chest. She could feel her anxiety picking up now._

_"I asked him a question. It was simple and straight to the point. I asked 'why did you email my friend Madeline?' and all he said was because I felt like it and that royally pissed me off! He can't try to squirm back into your life after you left his ass and have a new boy toy!"_

_"Um…" Gilbert wasn't...that. But she cut herself off when Elizabeta started complaining again._

_"I told him to leave you alone." she clicked her tongue. "You have a man. Kind of." she sighed heavily as she slouched into the couch cushion. "It may have been the way he read it, but all he said was 'okay'. Oh, oh, I was livid. I would fly down there and wring his neck! I mean how could he! Cheating bastard. I don't care if he has a kid and has grown up or whatever! He's still a piece of- ooh! I don't like him." she choked the air with her hands growling in agitation and Maddie stared at her with wide eyes. She wanted to laugh at how ridiculous Elizabeta looked right now as she aggressively strangled an imaginary Louis. Yet another emotion overpowered that action. She felt relief, as if a ton of bricks lifted off her shoulders and she was able to stand up straight without being pulled down again. Relief from him. Relief from all of the stress and false anxiety she piled onto herself._

_Berating herself for not being the best girlfriend or fiance. For being a failure at relationships. For being a bad friend that her former best friend will turn against her and go behind her back to sleep with her fiance at the time._

_At the time. She closed her eyes and suddenly all of the happy moments flooded in her head. Meeting for the first time. Louis, Diana, and her being the best of friends. Moving into the apartment together. The birthday surprises. The encouragement for exams and the small things that made her cry with joy._

_Those were the fun times. The ones she wants to remember. It is what she held onto this whole time. That tiny bit of love she hadn't felt for years._

_Until Gilbert came along._

_She can say he turned her world upside down. Hell, he saved her life. She never knew she would have a knight in shining armor come in and punch a guy in the throat for her. Or track her down by using her weather app on her phone. Or find her name on an endless search on the interwebs. Which honestly she felt was a little selfish. But he persevered and got the job down. She wanted to see how dedicated he was to finding out about her and if that moment didn't seal the deal then she had no earthly idea when it did so. Maybe the walk in the park. The storm right after under the awning. The nights they spent watching_ Goblin _. The times he came to her job to pick her up or bring her food saying she didn't deserve commoner food even if it was Chinese takeout he usually brought to her. He was so goofy, kind of a hot head according to Elizabeta, but a total sweetheart when it boil down to it._

_She snapped out of her reverie when Elizabeta stood up and she watched her stretch her arms over her head. "I'm beat, I'm going to go take a shower."_

_"Liz." the girl looked down at her and the girl smiled small, "thank you, you're a great friend." She wanted to say more than thank you but nothing else was coming to mind at the moment._

_She respected the Hungarian woman on a whole nother level now. She needed a friend to complain to, someone who would take her side and complain right back about her problems. Someone she can rely on. This is what she needed this whole time. Her brother was a great person to talk to, but she needed some females in her life that hold a different perspective._

_Grinning, Elizabeta flipped her hair. "I know." she laughed when Maddie threw a pillow at her which she easily moved out of the way before it hit her. "I'll be right back!" she giggled as she lightly jogged to the bedroom._

_Feeling the most relaxed in a long time, filled with courage she picked up her phone from her lap before it slid off her leg and still in the heat of the moment, she opened her email and started a new email. By this time she already memorized the email address by glaring holes into it before she lost confidence and ignored it for another day. But today was not the day. She thought of it as the most impossible task ever before. But now, it seemed like nothing._

Dear Louis,

It's good to hear that you are doing good. I do appreciate the thought of trying to be friends with you again but I find it impossible for me to say yes. It has been a long time since I left. That morning when I left I was very tempted to destroy your apartment but I didn't. I liked that furniture and I wish I could have taken it with me. But I grabbed what I could and left.

You said you watched me leave? If you really did love me you could have stopped me. Well, you didn't have the nerve to chase after me. Which is fine. I was broken. You and Diana betrayed me. Nobody has to go through what I did. There are many things I want to do to you, which includes punching you in that shit eating face.

_Maddie stared at the line and she wanted to delete it but then she thought, what the hell, let it rip._

I should have said no to the proposal. I knew that long and you know, I was giving you a second chance. But you kept seeing her. I was your thrown away lover. It's like the years we dated didn't matter or even cross your mind when you did it the first time.

I may have been at fault for some things but I never ever thought of leaving you or worse, staying with you and seeing another guy on the side. It's sick. You're sick.

I am happy you have a son. I am proud of you since you decided you wanted to grow up and be a father when Diana is being a poor excuse of a responsible mother.

You know, I've moved on. I hope you do too. I hope you find someone you love that you will never feel the tendency to ever leave their side for another. I do wish you happiness, because I have finally found mine.

Goodbye.

P.S. Francis was gay by the way. He had no interest in me that way. So...just wanted to let you know since you know, you accused him of hitting on me so many times.

P.S.S. I know plenty of gay men in my life and I could ask them to beat your ass anytime I want but I'm being generous. Test me and maybe you'll have a nice gift one day.

_It felt like time slowed down when she sent the mail and watched the little notification say it was on its way to him. All of a sudden she felt like she was too harsh._

_"No!" Slapping her cheek hard she scolded herself as she tossed the phone away on to the other end of the couch and laid down, staring at the ceiling as she thought about what she did. She could have been a lot more threatening to him. Maybe channel her inner bad self she knows she has hiding inside. But she didn't. She semi kept her composure and she turned onto her side now, burying her face into the pillow. A giant grin was sneaking up on her lips as she became giddy, kicking her legs a little. She did it. She actually did it._

* * *

Her phone dinged and she looked over to a text that just arrived from her brother which made her smirk. She had sent him the email she had sent to Louis right after and he blew up her phone like it was the end of the world with texts and a phone call.

* * *

_"Maddie! I am so proud of you! You did it! Look at you being a badass! I knew you had it in you!" He kept yelling and exclaiming but Maddie simply held the phone away from her ear and could still hear him perfectly._

_"I've had a little help. But yeah, I did it." she smiled._

_"Awesome! Oh man I've been worried about you. I can't come to your rescue when you live so far away and I have a budget to maintain."_

_"Sorry." she apologized._

_"Do you feel better?" he asked and she nodded, then realized he couldn't see her._

_"Yes, I feel five times better."_

_She could hear the grin in his voice when he said, "only five times? Why not ten?"_

_"Oh I don't know, most likely because only half of the problem is solved." she groaned._

_"Half?" he asked and then he let out a drawled 'oh'. "It really is long overdue since you have sent an answer to him don't you think."_

_"Yeah...it's time."_

* * *

"Perfect." she finished the long letter and she copied all of it, opened a new browser to her email, and sent it to herself. It seemed like a long unnecessary process but she had a reason. The reason being her app doesn't have a desktop website that you can message from. How inconvenient.

She picked up her phone and went to her email, opened the file and recopied it to her InstaPic account. The message was extremely long and past the character limit so she split it up into how many messages she could and sent each one. What was once an empty conversation with only one line now had paragraphs full. She wasn't exactly sure if she was going to get a response at this moment and she felt the nervousness fill her. Now she had to wait for Gilbert to reply back. If he wanted to.


	17. I Will Go To You Like the First Snow

"Bruder!" the loud knock and yell awoke Gilbert from his deep slumber. He had gotten back from a job and all he wanted to do was sleep. But  _no_ , his loud house guests wanted to ruin it. Automatically, ignoring the yell, he turned over on his bed and closed his eyes, hugging his pillow as he sleepily told the intruder to leave him alone. The sun shining through the window was toasty warm, making him reluctant to move from his spot. "Answer your phone. It keeps going off!"

"Turn the ringer off…" he mumbled as he snuggled further into his mattress. A long silence followed after his brother's yelling. Gilbert slowly fell back asleep, almost completely knocked out again when the door was opened to his room. Out of the blue something hit him on the arm and he jolted awake. His phone was now next to him on his bed. Cursing he sat up as he glared at his little yet tall brother who was giving him a look.

"You need to check it now." he said slamming the door, making the albino man jump and he groaned.

"What the hell is with him?" He scratched the side of his head, eyes half lidded as they moved to the phone that was face down on the bed. He picked it up slowly. Why did his brother make such a fuss? Grumbling more he flipped it around and opened his phone. A message...from InstaPic.

Who would message him? He hadn't really been posting on his account since he had been busy and he told people that so they wouldn't think he was dead. Maybe a fan who had the guts to try and slide into his DMs.

He was about to open the message when the door opened again. Feliciano skipped into the room, "Pasta is ready~" he exclaimed loud, grinning at Gilbert who was wide eyed, armed with a pillow and ready to throw.

"Jesus, calm your little happy ass down!" he yelled, "what if I was busy?!" he yelled.

"You aren't, come on now! It's going to get cold~" he left the room and the door was left open. The smell of food met his nose and his stomach growled in reaction to it. In defeat, he slid off the bed and pocketed his phone. He'll just check it later.

"It's probably not important." he said to himself as he trudged out of the room to go eat with his small family.

* * *

**\- Chapter 17-  
**

_**I Will Go To You Like the First Snow** _

_Before I held you, I didn't know_

_That the world I was in_

_Was this bright_

_I reached you with a small breath of life_

_It's a love that called out to me fearlessly_

* * *

It had been a rather stressful, overloaded anxiety few hours for our semi jaded Canadian waitress. Work was early today and so far, it had been hell for her. She tried her best with keeping up with orders and the norm, but all it takes is that one customer and you are off track for the rest of the shift. This sloppy businessman with grease on his white button down didn't like his sandwich  _after he are the whole thing_ , complained and complained the whole time he was there, called her horrible names and made a racial slur towards Ivan who politely asked him to leave. Maddie was ready to punch the guy or at least kick him where it hurts but she was more concerned with making sure Ivan didn't get charged with murder.

She should be used to this by now, but something about him rubbed her the wrong way. Until she realized it was the jerk from the hockey game. The guy who tried to kill her. Oh. Still hadn't learned his lesson that being an asshole was not going to get you everything you want. She wanted to wring his neck. How dare he! If Gilbert were here he would have beat him up for her!

Slumped, Maddie sat at the counter with her head face down. Thinking about her far away albino angel made her sad. She had not heard back from him and it was making her more depressed. He must have given up on her. Which is understandable. She basically swerved him when he tried to contact her and she regrets it every day.

Now that she had messaged Louis and felt more freedom than she had ever, she wanted to talk to him. Elizabeta was mean and refused to give out the phone number. Yet, he received all of those pictures of her. Her friend was mean.

"Hey, I gotta clean this." She lifted it up to see Natalia standing on the other side, giving her a look of slight concern as she held a wet rag in her hand.

"Sorry" she mumbled as she raised up and her co worker wiped down the area in front of her quick.

"What's the matter?" she asked. Natalia was not one to be concerned. So for her to ask was a big surprise that Maddie was not prepared to answer it. It took her moment to recollect her thoughts before she let out a dragged out sigh. She didn't want to tell her she was worried about losing Gilbert. So she just mentioned the other bad thing that happened to her today.

"The guy who complained was that guy who tried to hurt me at the hockey game." She  _thought_ it was a better topic until Natalia glared at her, making her flinch.

"Oh, really now?" The darkness peaked behind Natalia's eyes and Maddie felt like it was a bad idea to even mention that one!

"Y-yeah. But I'm sure we won't cross paths again." The short conversation ended when Natalia moved down the bar but the Canadian girl could still feel the dark aura emitting off her person and she knew that she might be planning something. She had a small problem with stalking. Never had been caught by the police since she was always found by her brother or sister before anything drastic could happen, yet she felt like this was going to end bad. Not for Natalia. No of course not. She can imagine when Natalia gets caught by Ivan or Katyusha, they will actually let her go and ruin this poor guys life when they find out why she chose him.

Better to not think about it. She had more things to worry about. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and their was no reply. Groaning she hit her head on the counter, the loud thud echoed through the empty restaurant. What is she going to do?

* * *

"Damn phone. Why won't it charge!" Gilbert whacked his phone against his desk twice before tossing it onto the bed. It was fine earlier but now it decided it wanted to shut off and not work! If only he checked that message earlier then he'll know who sent him a message.

"Ludwig! I need your phone!" he yelled as he pushed away from the desk and left his room. It was a process to log in through his brother's phone. He wish he didn't have to go through it but something was telling him to check it now.

Ludwig was in the living room laying across the couch with a book in his hand. He was reading for a moment before looking at the outstretched hand waving. "Guest bedroom." He was too exhausted at this point in the day that he didn't care about most things except sleep and catching his late night show.

"Roger that!" Gilbert jogged to the room and looked around. The small bedroom was more of a children's sized room. The bed took up most of the space but there was one wall that was filled up with a dresser. Right there was a black sleek phone and Gilbert picked it up, typing his brother's pass code in. Moving to the app he logged in. He has come this far, therefore he needs to know what this was about.

The first attempt he misspelled his password. Sitting on the bed after the second try he looked at the notifications go off. He really needed to turn that off. Rolling his eyes after reading a comment left by a girl who probably shouldn't even have internet access, he pressed the messages once more.

"Gil, what are you doing in here?" Gilbert looked up to Feliciano who was dressed in simple dark blue pj pants and a over sized t-shirt that was Ludwig's. He had a towel around his neck and he was drying his neck as he stared at the white hair man with a risen brow.

"Nu-uh, you interrupted me last time." he waved his finger at the Italian boy. "I have to check something." he glanced back at the screen and finally he read the name of the person. He froze in his spot. Feliciano watched Gilbert's eyes widen and immediately the phone slipped out of the albino's hand onto the bed and he suddenly jumped up.

"Holy shit. Holy shit!" he ripped at his hair as he paced next to the bed. "Luddy!" he cried for his brother who responded with a grunt from the couch, "This is serious! It's Maddie!"

That got their attention real quick. Feliciano moved to the bed and swiped up the phone as Gilbert ran to the living room, immediately landing on the couch. Ludwig had already moved his legs out of the way. Watching his brother panic was a sight to see. He wish he could laugh but he remained stone face since he didn't want his brother to freak out even more than he is.

"Calm down." he finally said. But it failed to calm him down. Instead, he began to panic more.

"I can't. It's been months since she has messaged me! I don't want to read it. What if she is telling me bad news? What if she got back together with her ex?!" he cried as his brother looked back at the auburn hair boy who was scrolling through the message.

"I have no idea what she means, ve." he said suddenly as he sighed in defeat. He held the phone out ot Gilbert, who at the moment was too scared to even touch the device. "Come on, it is not bad. In fact, some of it is great news for you!"

"You are just saying that!" the phone inched closer and he wanted to swat it away. But, it may cause a reaction from his little brother which might result with him being smacked upside the head. Hesitant, he grabbed the phone again and Feliciano sat on the end on the couch, making Gilbert scooch over.

Gilbert took a deep breath and he touched the screen so that it wouldn't lock. Madeline Williams. Ludwig and Feliciano looked over his shoulders and read along with him.

_Hey Gil. Wow, it has been forever since I have talked to you. Since August right? Wow, I am a bad friend. I wanted to say sorry about not contacting you sooner. It has been a couple of stressful months on my end. If it wasn't for Liz I wouldn't have the courage to message you right now. She helped me a lot in just the few days she stayed here. In a way, by talking to her, so much had been lifted off my shoulders. She deeply cares for you and as a result, she helped me even if it was dragging me along to shop and cut my hair. I know, I know, you liked my long hair. But take it as a symbol of letting go of my past. Sounds like an anime trope, does it not? Or better yet. A drama._

_How are your brother and Feli? I am sure they are being adorable as usual. Tell them I say hi and sorry to them too._

_There is so much I want to say to you. I want to talk to you face to face. You deserve it at this point. I will tell you the reason why I haven't been talking to you. Everything you want to ask, I'll answer it._

_Also, the video you posted for me? It was so sweet. And I officially want to say that I reciprocate your feelings. I won't tell you anything else until I see you again._

_I am not going to back down again. So expect messages from me everyday. Keep your phone on you._

_That may be a little direct. I'm sure you are upset with me. But I hope you can forgive me. Sorry this message is all over the place. But I am typing as I think of it._

_Christmas is soon. I know, it's only about a month away now. What are your plans? I don't have any. Alfred and Arthur are going overseas to visit Arthur's parents. My parents are probably spending time by themselves as usual. When they remember me they might send me a card to my brother's place. Captain is going with them of course. They cannot go anywhere without their little fur baby. They invited me but I decided to stay home and earn some extra money for the season. It gets really busy at the cafe and they will need me for sure. Luckily though, we are closed Christmas day since the Braginsky siblings are all leaving to go home. So I have the whole day to myself. I might celebrate with Christmas music and a cake. I can't really think of doing anything else. Also, it's snowing here! It just started this morning. Which is a little late for Canada but you know, global warming. How is the weather in Berlin? Is it slushy, icy, or fluffy snow? I have only seen pictures of Germany in the summer and fall so I have no idea._

_Speaking of snow, I watched some Goblin highlights last night. I feel like we are more of the Grim Reaper and Sunny couple. One is too secretive and the other is very blunt._

Gilbert smiled at the reference. "I guess we are."

"What is she talking about?" Ludwig asked.

"A show we watched together." he said and he continued reading the rest of the message, the smile staying on his lips.

_In this scenario though, I'm the man and you are the woman. You are my Sunny, the one I can't get too close to. How cheesy is that? Now you left me and I missed my chance._

_I just thought of something. I completely forgot about doing it when you were here with me in Canada. I am the worst at this kind of things. I wanted it to be perfect. But you know what? If Ludwig and Feliciano are okay with it, I would like to ask you on a date. On Christmas day. I'll send you more details later when I sort them out. Be ready for it!_

_Thank you for reading this long message. I'll see you soon,_

_Maddie_

Gilbert slouched on the couch after a tense read over of the message. The longest sigh left his lips as he looked at last paragraph one more time before exiting out of the app. Passing the phone to Ludwig he got up and stretched his arms behind his back. A silence filled the air as the couple stared at Gilbert who stood there. They couldn't tell what he was doing for a moment, until he let out a sharp laugh making them both jump.

"I have to think about what to say now! Man," he ran his fingers through his hair. Turning around he had a goofy grin on his lips, "Thanks for letting me borrow that. I have to go think of what to reply to her." he walked to his room leaving behind a pale, shocked brother on the couch. When the door shut with a click Ludwig slapped his cheek to check if he was still breathing. Yup, still is.

"He thanked me," he said, "It's the end of the world as we know it." Ludwig stared wide eyed at Feli who nervously laughed at his boyfriend's expression.

"Ve, it's okay." was all he could say without laughing at him. He consoled him with a couple of shoulder pats as he looked at the bedroom door with a smile. Finally, Gilbert has some solace in his lonely world and it comes in the form of an even more depressed girl who lives across the world. Fate works in the weirdest ways.

With each other, maybe they'll find happiness. They both deserve it.

* * *

Maddie had snuggled into her bed now with a heated blanket underneath her and a giant fluffy comforter over her legs. The laptop light was dimmed so it wouldn't burn her eyes as she searched on it in the dark. The website had so many options yet she wanted to buy the cheapest option. "What do you think?" she asked and a voice responded over the speaker.

"That has so many stops." Alfred answered. She was sharing the screen with her brother at the moment so that he can help her. "Why not do the one with three stops?"

"The price jump is ridiculous. I can't afford that." she sighed.

"I can chip in a little. I still have my big trip too." he stated.

"Thanks Al, I know." she backed out of the page and went back to the search bar. "I'll just try a different site."

"Okay, don't get scammed out of your money." Maddie rolled her eyes as she typed in the keywords. She mumbled to herself the words she typed. Over the speaker she heard her brother shuffle around some papers. He was busy with some late night work from his office job. He was a manager for a small computer company and since he will be out of town for the holidays, he had been pulling some all nighters lately. It is the only reason she could even talk to him at this ungodly hour of one o'clock in the morning.

"Hey Mads?" she hummed to confirm she was listening, "This is really out of the blue. So, why not ask...what's her name? Your friend? Hungarian chick." he asked and Maddie paused in her typing.

"Eh? That's too much! I can't ask her for that!" she responded with a slight raise in her voice.

"Why not? From what you told me, she managed to manipulate her modeling manager to have at trip to Canada so that she can have a intervention with you. That, my dear sweet little sister, is what we need on our side." Alfred snapped his fingers. "Contact her, tell her what you have planned, and I can guarantee that since it involves Gilbert, she will help you no matter what."

"Al-"

Alfred cut her off, "Arthur is trying to make me go to bed. Get on it, sis, or you'll lose your chance again." and suddenly the call ended and she groaned. Exasperated she closed her laptop and set it to the side on the table. She didn't want Elizabeta's help. But this plan came out of nowhere and financially speaking, it is impossible to follow through with it.

Her phone back in her hand she pulled up the messaged she sent to Gilbert first. It made her a little giddy inside. He read what she sent to him. Though, it was kind of unsettling knowing he read it and hadn't replied back. But that didn't ruin her mood. He read it and that's enough for her. Exiting it she pulled up her contacts, clicked Elizabeta's number and called it. It must be early morning where she is. Luckily her international calling was still active since she traveled a lot.

It went to voicemail. "Hey Liz, it's Maddie. I have a favor to ask..?"

* * *

"Madeline Williams you know damn well I will help you." Elizabeta had checked her voicemail after she got out of the shower. Her husband had already left for work early that morning and she was all alone in her room. Walking around naked cause this is her house and no one else can tell her otherwise. Rubbing the towel through her hair she sat down on her bed and called a number on speed dial. "Hello my favorite person in the world!"

"What do you want Hedervary?" her manager grumbled through the speaker.

"Good, you're in a pleasant mood." She said with a glad tone. "I have a favor. This time, it's not for me."

"Oh? Great." the man said with sarcasm, "What is it?"

"Nothing too much. But I need your traveling discount." she crossed her legs as she waited for him to answer. It took a minute when he finally spoke back.

"Where to?"

Elizabeta smirked as she thought about the voicemail her Canadian friend left. "Just a little place called Berlin."


	18. Who Are You

**\- Chapter 18 -**

_**Who Are You** _

**"Every life is touched by a deity at least once. Just when you are drifting away from the world, if someone nudges you back in the right direction, that'd be when the deity chooses to visit you." — Kim Shin, Goblin**

The cramped apartment of Gilbert Beilschmidt, for once, had been cleaned top to bottom. Ludwig felt it was quite concerning for his brother to be in the mood to straighten up his house. He never was. It was the one thing he hated to do the most: chores. But when he walked into the apartment to check on his older brother, the house was so clean it shined bright. Huh, when did a coffee table get there? Ludwig had to question if he walked into a stranger's apartment.

"Luddy!" the yell came from the back. Ludwig walked to the sound only to find his brother on the small balcony, which was another strange thing to see. Gilbert hated staying outside. Who was he and what happened to his brother?

The cold air made him shiver as he stepped back out into the cold. Gilbert had a beer in one hand and his phone in the other as he looked up at his brother, patting the ugly checkered beach chair next to his own.

"Are you okay?" Ludwig asked, still in shock from the house. Now his brother was grinning like he just won the jackpot.

"Of course I am!" Reaching to his side he picked up a cold beer and passed it over to Ludwig, "What'd you bring me?" he eyed the bag.

"Some chips." he tossed the bag on the albino's lap and watched as he scavenged through it for something to eat.

"Aw shit, these are the best!" Gilbert grinned. A notification went off and it stopped Gilbert from looking for food. He read his phone and a wider smile grew on his lips.

Ludwig managed to glance at the name. "It's good she is still talking to you." he said. Honestly he was upset the girl threw his brother into a depressive state. She led him along and stopped talking to him for months. But he barely knows her, what problems she has, how her family life is. There are many factors as to why she did it.

"She hasn't stopped. It's great." he thought for a moment and typed back a reply. "I thanked Elizabeta with flowers for helping her. You should have seen the face her bastard husband made. Worth it." he laughed as he popped open the chips.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "He has a name." The sound of horns filled the air from the busy street below, transitioning the boys into a comfortable silence. They both looked to the sun setting over the buildings as the hues of red and orange reflected off the glass buildings. They were not sure how much time had passed between them, but when the next text that released them from their inner peace went off, it was Ludwig who picked up his phone.

"Bruder." Ludwig started and Gilbert took a sip of his beer, glancing at the blonde. "The reason I came today was to get your advice."

"Advice? About what?" Gilbert grew a little nervous. "Did you get in trouble?"

Ludwig sighed softly, "Not really. But...mutter and vater called me." the younger brother watched Gilbert's face flash a stone cold expression for a split second before it reverted back to normal.

"What did they say?" the brothers have a strained relationship with their parents. Ever since Ludwig came out, it has never been the same since. Of course, Gilbert sided with his brother since he was so young and the verbal abuse of his parents was unacceptable. So he did the only thing he could do; he packed them up and left the house at a young age. Never looked back since. For his parents to call Ludwig out of blue after many years of no contact must mean they want to make amends. Or they want to use him.

"I don't know what to do. They invited me down to the cottage for Christmas to see me and reconcile" he tightened his fist into a ball on his lap. "That's what they said, but the bitterness in their tone made it sound fake." he sighed softly, running his hand through his blonde looks. It was then when Gilbert notice more strain on his brother's face than before. It looked like he hadn't been properly taking care of himself. One phone call had been eating him up.

"They're liars" Gilbert tried to collect himself, indulging in another beer before he spit out hateful words towards his parents, "They want something from you."

"But, what if it's true? What is they want to-"

"Ludwig." the brothers stared at each other with frowns. A small tension built around them but it was easily broken when Gilbert set his beer down and sat up on his chair.

"I know you miss them," He said with a light sigh escaping his lips, "sometimes I think about them too. But they had made their choice to not accept you and we made ours by leaving them. We are older, wiser, more you than me and overtime we developed sympathy for our loved ones. You know, I'm not the best person to give advice but I am going to tell you that you and I," he pointed to himself and Ludwig. "We miss them but we don't need them. Look where we are in our lives. I do photography and videos for a living! You, if I may brag, are the coolest boss of a travel agency. Without it you wouldn't have met that hyper ball of pasta that barges into my house." He managed a chuckle from Ludwig at his absurd description of his boyfriend. With that, Gilbert reached for his brother's shoulder and squeezed it tight. "I love you, you know that right?"

"Of course." the younger brother sagged his shoulders a little as he was comforted. "Even if you are a pain in the ass." Ludwig smirked and Gilbert gasped in shock.

"I am not!" he defended. The brothers bantered jokingly back and forth. When Ludwig rose up his beer towards Gilbert, the brother grinned and grabbed his. Clinking their bottles together they shared a small smile together.

"Even if you change your mind and go see them, I'll support you. Just...tell me if you do." The phone going off on the lawn chair caught both of their attention. It took a brief moment for Gilbert to realize it was his. He snatched it up and answered, "Hello?"

"Yo, Gilbert." It was Matthias. He was not one to call out of nowhere or better yet, call at all. He hated talking on the phone and preferred to talk via texting.

"Matthias." surprise was present on his face. "Hey man, you don't call often. What's up?" He listened intently and nodded a couple of times as he listened. "Who?" he listened a little longer before his eyes widened. "Wait what. Stay on the phone." He switched it to speaker and pulled up his browser, typing in what nonsense Matthias was spouting rather rapidly. Ludwig couldn't catch what he was talking about but Gilbert caught some keywords and typed them in. He searched it and the results came up immediately.

_'Hungarian model new hook up?!'_

_'Famous model makes pit stop for secret lover!'_

"What kind of bullshit is this?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out!" Matthias yelled. "I called Liz but she said it was all rumors."

"Then that's what they are." Gilbert pressed an article to read the nonsense the reporter wrote. "She doesn't know anybody there except some of her model friends." He checked the dates that Elizabeta was in New York with her suppose 'lover' and Gilbert rose a brow. "Hey, that's the day she left Quebec."

"Huh? Quebec?"

Gilbert nodded but replied since Matthias was not there, "Yeah, she was coming back home. She was most likely delayed and she had a few hours to spare or something."

"Probably. But JFK security is pretty tight." the boys talked while Ludwig inputted a few of his opinions. That is, until Gilbert saw the picture that paparazzi took and he stared at the man that she was talking to at a close proximity. He was a man who seemed to be late twenties or something. He zoomed in to his features on his face and Ludwig peered over. Hazel eyes, brown wind tousled hair, pale face and distinct wrinkles around his eyes. This camera was high quality. He wish he could tell what kind of camera this was. Wait, getting off topic.

He wore a simple long black winter coat and was carrying a briefcase against his side and he was gripping it so tight that his knuckles were white. Whatever was happening, people are too dumb to realize this is not a girl loving on a guy. This is a girl making a point and the man is reacting defiantly. If the camera man had stayed a little longer they would be sure to have heard yelling and an unpleasant exchange of foul language.

"This is a standoff." Gilbert said, "She's not flirting with him, at all. Look at his body language. He is on guard!"

"But why?" Ludwig asked and the other two were thinking the same.

"What's in New York other than Feliks and Michelle?" he asked and then he thought for a moment. The only thing he could connect New York to was the models. Nothing else came to mind. What could it be? "I'll call Liz later. I can badger it out of her."

* * *

"Liz! Oh my god, you didn't!" Madeline was at work in the back break room with her phone glued to her ear. Panic shot through her as she started to nervously sweat. Ivan had been browsing his phone earlier and noticed an interesting article. The drama starter he is, he read it and showed Maddie the picture of the 'secret lover' and the poor blonde almost fainted on the spot. Elizabeta was in New York with...with  _him_! "You know who that was right?!"

A hum was heard in response, "yeah, I know."

"Don't act so calm about this! What did you talk about?!" She wanted answers immediately. From the doorway Katyusha and Natalia stood watching the girl tap her foot on the floor as she talked on the phone.

"Poor Maddie." Katyusha held her cheek as she watched, "It might not be a good time to tell her about that then." she glanced at her younger sister who had her arms crossed across her stomach. An evil smirk crossed over her lips as she returned the look.

"She will find out on her own" she shrugged.

Maddie wanted to bury herself in a hole. This is completely unprecedented! She did not know this would happen. Why, why, why?!

"He was a wuss." Elizabeta started, "I expected more of a guy with a backbone but he didn't retaliate. He doesn't even drink beer! What kind of man doesn't drink beer! At least you did. Though you did get wasted after being sober for like, years. Anyway. I can summarize this whole encounter. I promise it was by accident."

"Liar." Maddie's eye twitched.

"Okay fine. It was completely on purpose." the woman continued, "I went there to meet him but I was shocked to find him so easily! So many people, it must be fate~"

"You do realize New York is huge right?"

There was a small silence and then a snort. "Okay, I may have asked a friend to um...find information about him."

"You did what?!" the girl squeaked loudly, "Liz!"

"Don't worry! The person was more than willing to help me out."

Back in Massachusetts, Alfred sneezed loudly.

"Oh really?" Maddie stared at the employee schedule trying to keep her eyes concentrated on something rather than wavering back and forth. "Tell me everything. Without lying. Start to finish. What did you and Louis talk about?"

_The streets of New York were busy as always. Traffic, pedestrians, dog walkers, children who ran away from their parents, the whole nine yards. It's like walking through a carnival on opening day._

_Elizabeta looked at her phone and read the address her secret source sent to her. It was mentioned briefly while conversing that Maddie's brother, for some reason, had connections to a detective who willingly gives out information to him. Who knows what the reason is. But she quickly introduced herself to him, told him what she was doing, and what do you know? He gave her the info in less than an hour! How resourceful!_

_An office building stood across the street from her and she stared up at the large skyscraper that was at least forty something floors. Louis worked here. She stood there for a second before looking at the time. Right at noon her target walked out, buttoning his jacket up and began moving with the flow of the crowd as he headed to lunch. Of course, the woman followed. What she didn't know was that she had someone on her tail as well._

"Well, we talked about you silly~ What else would we, two complete strangers, be talking about when we have one mutual between us."

_"Why did you send Maddie that email? You know she is trying to move on right?" the woman had him cornered, out of the way of the rushing bodies. Louis gave her a cold glare as he roughly pulled his arm away from her grip._

_"That's none of your business." he spat and she only smirked._

_"It's fine. Don't tell me." she crossed her arms, locking her leg as she tilted her head, "But I will gladly tell you all about Maddie finding a guy. Want to hear?" she smirked sheepishly and Louis glared harder at her._

_"Not interested."_

_"Come on. It's a great Cinderella story!" When he reacted with silence, she peered down to see his fist tightening. Oh, a reaction. She lived for those._

_Elizabeta stepped closer and leaned in to his face. "You don't have to listen but I will give you advice." she jabbed his chest twice. "Do not contact her. Do not try to persuade her to get back together. She doesn't need you when she has a nice guy. You've had your time together. Now, it's time for her to move on. And you should too. Stop lingering in the past when it didn't work out the first time." With one last jab she stepped back, her smirk still visible on her lips as she twirled away, "Better not take it lightly. I have connections with people that could get rid of you without a trace~" her voice was sweet and cynical. Louis felt a shiver go through his whole body and Elizabeta wanted to laugh. With a fake blow of a kiss she walked away with a slight pep in her step. It was time for her to head back to the airport and catch her flight. Otherwise, her manager will give her a hour long earful of scolding._

"Do you go this far for everyone?" After hearing that Maddie had to have a seat so her legs would not give out from underneath her. So she took a seat in a chair and held her head, wiping the sweat that formed on her brow.

"Not everyone. Consider yourself lucky~" Elizabeta replied. A few rustles were heard on the other end and Elizabeta exclaimed happily. "Roddy! Honey~" she yelled and Maddie couldn't help but smile at that. What a cute couple. "I have to go Mads! I have to talk to my dear husband. Bye!"

"Ah, goodbye." the call disconnected and Maddie slouched. Placing her phone down in her lap she slapped her hands on her face and screamed in frustration. Luckily it was muffled. Ivan would have guessed she was dying from the noise she made just now.

"Liz...you need to be put on a leash." she groaned and she leaned back, not helping the smile which crept on, "Thank you."


	19. I Will Go To You Like the First Snow (part 2)

**\- Chapter 19 -**

_**I Will Go To You Like the First Snow part 2** _

_I liked it so much_   
_Watching over you, my heart fluttering_   
_Even when I was ridiculously jealous_   
_All of those ordinary moments_

_In the dark eternity_   
_In that long wait_   
_Like sunshine, you fell down to me_

_Before I let go of you, I didn't know_   
_That the world I am in_   
_Was this lonely_

* * *

It feels like the month crept up on her. December was here and it is nearly over now. Which meant it was time for her big, unexpected and way out of her comfort zone trip. Out of the safe boundary of her country. Maddie wouldn't turn back now. She had been trying to keep this a secret between her, her big mouth brother, and her big mouth friend.

The airport was busy since everyone was traveling for the holidays. Alfred and Arthur had already landed in London for their Christmas vacation while Maddie sat in the airport reading a book she had picked up in one of those airport stores. It was some romance novel with a sour plot line but it made for a good laugh. It was also what she used to calm her nerves. With her phone charging in the spot underneath her chair, she needed to find something to preoccupy her hands and she wanted to make sure her crappy phone battery didn't die on her at the last minute.

Many events have happened in the last month to get to this point of waiting for an airplane. First off, she had found out that Natalia had sent a man crazy. Pushing her useful (scary) stalking skills, she ended up scaring the poor sot so badly that he ended up turning himself in for trying to kill a girl. That man, coincidence or not, was the slimy red faced burly man that laid his hands on her at the hockey game way back in the summer. He confessed that it was not his first offense, that he also sexually harassed girls and used his family members status in the government to get whatever he wished.

When Maddie learned of the news, it followed up with a news story of the politician apologizing for his family member being a piece of scum under someone's boot and the journalists, mostly women, had thrown both of them under the bus. It was a shit show. But an enjoyable one at that.

Maddie ended up taking Natalia out to dinner as thanks. She wish she could thank her more but Natalia simply accepted the food and, in the nicest way the girl could muster, simply said if anyone else hurt Maddie she would do it again. If Katyusha did not encourage such bad behavior, Maddie would not have felt satisfaction on seeing that man suffer. She would never have done it by herself so in a way she was happy her stalker-ish friend put her strange skills to use. Perhaps instead of professional stalker, she could maybe charge by the hour and people can hire her to find information. The idea was brought up a week after their dinner and with a strange glint in her eye, Natalia said she would think about it. Which usually equals to yes.

Natalia's stalker encounters was not the first of many strange things to happen this month. Nope. Everything hit at once like a tidal wave.

Wave two happened not even a few days after the big grease ball incident. Buzznet had contacted her out of the blue and asked for an interview. Apparently the person they had chosen instead of her half a year ago decided that they would steal funds from Buzznet and got themselves arrested. Of course no other news outlets would have ever known about it. The only reason Maddie knows is because the person asking for an interview was one of the chattiest people she had ever talked to that it became almost unbearable to listen. The guy even had a slight accent so half the time she had no idea what he was saying.

If this was her in July, she would have immediately said yes. But now, she only said that she would think about and email them if she had decided or not. Giving the reasonable, nicest reason of 'you guys put me on the back burner, you can wait a few days' she ended the call and it only took a day later for her to email them. It was very short and straight to the point, 'Thank you for your interest, but no thanks.' Usually she is a professional when it comes to her work life but, as Elizabeta said, sometimes you have to be petty.

Now, wave three was not as bad. It was simply Louis answering her back after she replied to his first email. Let's just say it was a nasty response but Maddie didn't take it to heart. Elizabeta riled him up and honestly, it was amusing. The girls laughed about it that night as they talked over the phone. Not even three months ago she was having anxiety attacks about her ex-fiance and now she is making fun of him and herself for being so hung up on him for so long. She has better offers in life so it was time to leave him behind and carry on. Which was a the biggest weight lifted off her shoulders. She felt so much better that she even contacted her old college friend Francis. Her gay artistic friend from back in the day that she helped out. The one Louis thought she was cheating on him with. She hadn't talked to him since the accusations so it was a surprise when he answered his social media message. It didn't take long to reconnect with him but he was still upset with her for leaving him to dry those many years ago. All Maddie could do was sit on the phone with him as he cussed her out in French and in English. Take it like a champ, she told herself as the onslaught continued for an hour. After that they decided to meet up somewhere and Francis mentioned he lived in France now so she had to drag her Canadian ass over to him before he even thinks about stepping back onto North America soil. Fair enough, she said to him and they planned to meet before she headed to Gilbert's place. It was a detour Maddie mentioned to Elizabeta and all she received was a mysterious laugh. Not sure what that was about.

The last wave was probably the most insane one. She had opened her email one day and her inbox was flooded with mail from her blog. Here's a little backstory. NetTube has some content creator in Canada, of course, so apparently one of them was doing an episode out and about on the street. The video they were filming was a tour that Maddie had put on her blog. It all circles back to  _Goblin_ one way or another. Korean culture has boomed so a lot of people are watching Korean related content. So when the NetTuber put up a video following her blog post her site got flooded and mail was sent in asking for more travel related content or about Korean culture in general. Even some sponsor ships have come through and honestly Maddie had no idea what to do with the thousand plus unread messages. When it comes to the internet she had the best option at the touch of a button. She turned to Gilbert for some help and he suggested she just become a NetTuber like him and they can rule the world. Even though the last part was a stretch, Maddie kept it in the back of her mind about the idea. Although she did not like the way she looked she encouraged herself with ' _If Gilbert went this far to grab my attention, then I must be attractive enough_ '. It's helped a lot in boosting her self confidence.

Speaking of Gilbert…

Maddie's phone rang and she broke from her book to bend down. Her specialized ringtone for Gilbert rang and she answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hey chickadee, how are you?" his simple greeting she has heard plenty of times now still makes her heart flutter.

"I'm good." she smiled small. Gilbert took the extra jump in fees to get his phone to call international and he puts it to good use. This is the third time he has called her this week alone. "I'm just tired. I couldn't sleep last night."

"Me either." he replied. The loud intercom went off and Maddie tried to listen to the announcement. Not her flight, yet. "Where are you?"

Maddie smiled small, "Out and about. There is a Christmas festival going on." She didn't lie, per say. There was a festival going on in Quebec this time of year. Moving her carry on from under her seat she used her bag to prop up her feet and get comfortable. "Did you see the link I sent you?"

There was a shuffle on his end before he replied, "I did." He snickered. Maddie smiled to herself as she listened to him as he continued, "Feli wanted to send you a Christmas present but he doesn't know your address."

Maddie gleamed, "Aw, he didn't have to get me something. Why didn't he call me himself? He has my number."

"He just told me." the shuffling grew louder and another voice bled in through the background. Of course Feliciano was there. Must mean that Ludwig is there too. But a new voice sounded and Maddie rose a brow as Gilbert yelled at the voice to shut up. Which ensued in loud arguing. "Gil?" the phone made a loud thud in her ear. It sounded like the phone dropped on the floor. The crackling of reception made her worried. That is, until Feliciano's voice came on.

"Senora!" he greeted with his happy upbeat voice.

Maddie giggled, "Hi Feli." He had so much energy. Everybody else seemed like downers if they stood next to this bouncing Italian.

"Ve, Gilbert and Lovi are wrestling~" the yelling proceeded to get farther away as Feliciano left the room to go to a quieter place, "I have a present for you"

"Thank you Feli! But I actually won't be home for Christmas." Maddie played with a page in her book.

Feliciano sounded confused, "But Gil said you were going to be home."

"No," Maddie leaned back in her seat. The airport was starting to get busier and she tried to block out the background noise as much as she could. "Don't tell Gilbert but...I'm going on vacation."

"Really?" Feliciano sounded more confused than before. "Why can't I tell him?" suspicion was laced in his voice and Maddie knew he was overthinking all of this.

"It's a surprise." she answered. "But I'm going to be in Berlin for Christmas."

There was a silence over the phone for what dragged on to be a minute now. Madeline grew nervous at the impending reply to what she said. But it never came so she had to start talking again, "I'll be in Berlin in a couple of days. I am visiting a friend in France first since I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Does this mean I can give you the present in person?" Feli's voice finally broke through and Maddie nodded, realized he wasn't there and verbally said yes to him. A loud squeal erupted from his end and she instinctively pulled the phone away from her ear in shock and hurt as her ear rang. "I am so happy! Okay, okay, I have to start planning a party! This is going to be great! I am going to invite everyone!"

The girl rubbed her ear to stop the ringing before she placed the phone back on her ear, "Thank you. I'll see you at Christmas. Remember, don't tell Gil. This is my gift to him." The intercom over head blared, announcing her flight was now boarding. Maddie unplugged her charger and grabbed her belongings and prepared to head to the gate. "I'm boarding now. See you in a couple of days." she said her goodbye and ended the call. She slung her bag over her shoulder and proceeded to the gate with her crappy romance novel in hand. It was going to be a long flight.


	20. You are so Beautiful

**\- Chapter 20 -**

_**You are so Beautiful** _

* * *

Paris. The city of love and romance. Maddie has always wanted to visit here but being the hermit she was, she never wanted to venture out of the comfort of her home of good ol' Canada. But now she is here. In the flesh.

The girl stood on the side of a secluded neighborhood sidewalk and stared at her phone to stare at the address her friend had sent her. Glancing up at the tall structure she pushed down on her suitcase handle and picked it up, struggling to bring it up the stairs. The apartment building had the touch of French architecture, even the vines growing on the walls had an aesthetic to it that Maddie liked.

"What did I pack?" she questioned herself as she heaved the bag into the landing and fixed the bag that almost fell off her shoulder in the process. The apartment number and then call, she told herself as she typed the digits in carefully and pressed the button. There was a loud buzzer and she pulled the door, only for it to be a push door. Embarrassed she pushed in and stepped into a long hallway with many doors and one elevator at the very end. The top floor is where her friend lived. Apparently she needed a pass code for that as well. What kind of high tech security protocol was this? Pulling the handle she walked down the hall with the sound of the wheels echoing off the walls.

The elevator was already at ground floor so she did not have to wait for it. Stepping in she typed in 1-7-8-9 on the little digital pad above the regular floor numbers and the elevator closed, starting its ascent. How fancy, she thought to herself.

It stopped and slowly opened to a hallway as long as the one downstairs. But it was completely different. Vases on tables lined the corridor with flowers in some of them. Paintings hung on the walls with and she stared at each one with a look of awe. The decorations were complemented with a sky blue wall and white wood trimming. This was when she started to question what Francis did for a living that could afford him a top floor suite. Not the secret agent code in the elevator, but his fancy interior of his hallway that leads to his front door.

She walked out, rolling her belongings along as she pulled it over the long maroon carpet that led to a dark mahogany door. Her stomach began to churn as she rose her fist up and gave two quick knocks.

"It's unlocked!" the yell came from inside and she blinked. Turning the knob she pushed in and gaped at the expanse living room. Everything screamed expensive! The furniture was a cream color with a few objects, such as one random love seat and the rug, were fuchsia. It was so spacious, she thought as she looked around the immediate area. The kitchen had marble counter tops, plants were in almost every room it seemed, and more paintings were on the wall. These were ones she recognized from her college days. A couple of self portraits of her friend, some still life, and of course, some nudity. Which honestly did not surprise her that he hung it up right where guests could see it as soon as they walked in. He loved himself and in a way, Madeline envied him for having high self esteem.

"Madeline?" the call came from a room in the back and the girl put her bag against the wall as she closed the door. Shrugging her jacket off she set it down as she stepped in a little more into the warm apartment. She took a step down into the living room and she was almost scared by the lifelike dog statue that was halfway under a table.

"It's me." she replied back after her slight shock and she heard the footsteps pattering against the wooden floor. Francis Bonnefoy came out of a room dressed in a bright red tux jacket with a black button up underneath, tight blue jeans with rips in the knees, and some crazy design ankle socks with some puns written on them. His golden hair was pulled up in a half ponytail to show off his sterling chain earrings.

The two stared at each other, both with smiles etched on their faces. One was worried, one was nervous. The tension between them was almost suffocating to the Canadian girl. Anxiety was getting the worse of her at this moment. What if she got kicked out? Where would she go? Her plane for Germany does not leave until later so she'll have to find accommodations elsewhere. And she can't afford that!

"Whatever you're thinking about, stop." The girl broke from her stupor and blinked, staring at the blonde man who stood only a few feet from her now.

"You always do this. It's a bad trait of yours," Francis stated, his manicured finger raising up and pressing the spot in between her eyebrows, "You think of scenarios that are way worse than what is actually happening, dive yourself into depression and make yourself feel bad. After all these years I was hoping that would be the thing that changed." he pushed gently and she furrowed her brows. "You also make the stupidest face when you think."

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a defiant glare, "Your face is stupid."

His hand went over his heart in feign hurt, "How could you say something so evil like that?!"

"You started it." they both glared at each other. Until Francis let out a snort, resulting in both of them laughing at each other. The tension slowly disappeared between them and after their laughing fit, they shared a hug.

"Sit down, make yourself at home." The older male pushed her back gently after they broke apart from their embrace and led her to the couch, "are you hungry?"

"I'm mostly tired. It was a long flight." she smiled as she sat down, relief filling her body as she sunk down into the comfortable sofa.

Francis sat across from her in his fuchsia love seat and crossed his legs. "If you can wait, we can go out to eat later tonight."

"I can wait." she rested her head against the pillow that she placed behind her head. "What have you been doing Francis? How did you end up here?"

He sheepishly grinned. "You are looking at a successful artisan! I am a master of my art and greedy politicians like to give my paintings to their wives or mistresses." he winked.

"Wow," Maddie gaped, "You really did it."

"Of course I did. The only person who did not have faith in me was that crappy ex of yours." Francis shrugged. "By the way, it made my day when you told me he thought you were cheating on him with me. It's comedic cold."

"Well, it may have been my fault. I didn't tell him you swung for the other team. I thought the signs were obvious."

Francis waved his finger at her, "It's the perks of having a gay family member. You can always tell." The two fell into a long conversation. It was a long few hours of catching up and Maddie had fallen asleep during a part of it, leaving Francis to put her belongings up.

He put her bags into the guest bedroom when her phone started to ring. Wanting to not wake the girl up, he fished through her coat and pulled out the phone. 3 missed calls. Maddie had become popular, it seems. Good for her.

He silenced the call and waited until it ended. "Gil? Aw, there are hearts next to his name. How cute~" Is this the guy she had been talking to? He'll have to see what this man is all about soon.

* * *

Gilbert sneezed into his elbow and his coworkers all looked at him. "Stupid cold weather." he mumbled as he put his camera down and grabbed for his hot chocolate instead, taking a sip. Why do people make hot chocolate with water? It doesn't taste right. Unsatisfied, he put it down and looked around the studio. It was a slow day. They had already wrapped up a couple of shoots earlier. Now everyone was waiting for the boss to tell them to head home and have a very happy holiday. But so far, nothing from the man and Gilbert was growing impatient. The person he was going to talk to until time to go home didn't answer her phone. What was Maddie doing? Having fun without him? The thought made him frown and he moved on to other things to think about.

Elizabeta was busy 'sexing up' her husband when he called her earlier. He called them disgusting, gave his usual 'fuck you' to Roddy and hung up before Elizabeta could finish saying her comeback. Ludwig and Feliciano were out shopping today and Lovino was out wooing Carmen Hernandez Carriedo, a sexy Spanish lady who happened to be from Gilbert's group of friends.

She had come for a short visit before heading back to Spain after traveling with a couple of girlfriends around Europe. Stopping by Gilbert's house, it was when that Italian bastard fell in love with her. Gilbert thought the Vargas brother lost his mind when he asked for her name and asked her out for coffee in his usual brash way, resulting him in turning red in the face and led to the cute little nickname 'little tomato' from Carmen. If he said that he wasn't laughing at Lovino and teasing him, he would be lying.

Ludwig, in the end, decided to not go to their parents house. Thank God, he said when he heard the news. Instead, they decided to have a party on Christmas eve, a suggestion by Feliciano, and now Gilbert had to figure out what to get everyone. Shopping was not his forte and one of the reasons he called his long distant crush was to get her help on the matter. But she hadn't texted or called him back so he has to figure something else out!

Then he thought a moment.

When it suddenly hit him. Of course, he had one friend who can help him!

* * *

"Franny!" Gilbert yelled in to the phone when he finally escaped the studio to head home for the night. The sun was already down when he stepped out onto the iced sidewalk, almost slipping on a patch from rushing out too quickly. "I need help!"

"You are loud, mon ami." Francis responded, "I am out having dinner right now with a friend."

"One of your 'buddies'?" of course his French friend could not see the air quotations but Gilbert did them anyway.

"Non, not tonight. My friend from overseas is visiting me"

"You have friends that aren't me and Carmen?" he gasped, "are you cheating on us!?"

"Please, save the dramatics for later." Francis sighed and Gilbert heard a muffled female voice asking Francis a question. "Just a friend. He's a loud mouth."

Gilbert's eye twitched, "Not as loud as you when you break a nail."

Francis gasped in shock too, "that is a personal attack! I'll sick chere on you if you don't behave! Maybe she will put you in line!"

"Sorry man, I don't need another Liz. Try again." he smirked and Francis could only groan at the mention of their rambunctious friend.

"I will call you back later, our food has arrived."

"Yeah, yeah. Call you later. Bye."

Francis ended the call and shook his head. The restaurant was a low lit venue with slick black flooring, clean and pristine white table cloths on the tables, waiters in all black walking around and people were chattering in hush voices to each other. He had earned himself a couple of looks when he yelled at Gilbert earlier so he decided to end the call sooner than usual. Plus, Madeline was sitting across from him trying to preoccupy her time with her napkin in her lap. When the food arrived he decided to end the call since the waiter was hopelessly trying to flirt with the French Canadian girl so Francis had to put an end to his failed attempts by sending him away.

"Pardon, he has a bad mouth." Francis set his phone to the side and picked up his utensils to cut into his basil salmon terrine.

Maddie shook her head, "It's fine. The guy I told you about is the same way." she dipped her spoon into her bisque and hummed when the delightful taste hit her.

"Oui, I would like to meet this crush of yours. He must be a great guy if you have traveled halfway across the world to see him." He smirked when Maddie's cheeks bloomed into a light pink color as she dipped into her soup once more, thinking about Gilbert when Francis segued into another topic. What was he doing right now, she thought to herself as she smiled.

* * *

_Even if you ask me  
A hundred, no, a thousand times_   
_There's always one answer_   
_Yesterday, today and tomorrow_   
_You can ask but you're the prettiest in the world_


	21. Hush

**\- Chapter 21 -**

**_Hush_ **

_Hush now, my angel_   
_I will always be with you_   
_In your pretty smile_   
_in a glow of tears_   
_Out across the frosty night_   
_I'll be there with you_

* * *

The sun had barely peeked through the slither of the curtain in the white pristine bedroom when the phone next ot the sleeping body started to ring loud. A hand found its way and immediately silenced the device. Aggravated with the sudden disturbance he ignored the first call. Until the phone rang again and he groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. He answered the call with a groggy voice, "Good morning Francis!" the loud voice on his phone made the French man groan as he rolled over in his bed, the phone laying against the side of his face as he snuggled into his pillow.

"Eliza, you know it is not even 7 in the morning, right?" he managed to mumble, which made Elizabeta laugh.

"Of course I do! I'm getting ready for work so I decided to call you~" she said and he groaned. He guessed he was the victim of her early morning calls today. She called either Feliciano or Carmen since they were usually up at the ungodly hours Elizabeta was, "so how are you? I heard you had a friend visiting you from overseas." she said. Francis mumbled a yes. He just gave up, sitting up in his bed and got comfortable with his back against his pillows.

"It's been fun. I haven't seen her in a long time and we still get along well. She's still a nervous wreck but I guess that's one of the things I like about her." he smiled, pulling the covers up a little more over his bare chest.

"That's good! I'm glad you are enjoying yourself." Elizabeta said, "What are you doing for Christmas?"

"My parents are throwing a party but I wasn't invited. Again." he shrugged. "Being popular and gay does not suit their tastes."

"Those aren't plans!" she gasped, "Why not travel down with me and Roddy to Gilbert's place? Feliciano is throwing a party on Christmas eve. It's a misfit extravaganza~"

"Ludwig allowed this?" Francis rose a brow.

"He agreed almost immediately! He's been a great mood lately, it's almost scary. It's going to be at their new house. It was originally going to be at Gilbert's but they changed the place since more people were invited."

Francis hummed low. A party at the new estate? It sounds fun. Besides, he had not seen his friends in quite awhile, "Who is all going to be there?"

"Hold on, I have the list." she pressed a button on her phone and he knew he was put on speaker now, "It is going to be… get ready"

"Okay, lay it on me."

She began listing the names, "Feli, Ludwig, Gil, Matthias, Roddy, Lovino, Carmen, myself, you if you say yes, and a couple of photography buddies that Feli know. They are Kiku and Yong Soo I think, I might have said them wrong. And we have one more person!"

"I see" Francis pushed the blankets off of his and got out of the comfort of his bed. He needed to do his usual morning routine and then start breakfast. "Who is the mystery guest?"

"Ah, it's a surprise! But I can tell you since you will find out soon anyway. When you do, I can help you fly down with them!"

"Okay..? It sounds like you have been scheming again from your tone." Francis smirked as he grabbed his silk robe from off the hook on his bathroom door and slipped it on quick.

"Oh please, this was not my idea. I just helped out. You always think I am up to no good."

Because you are, Francis shook his head, "I have to jump in the shower, tell me real quick."

"Call me back and I will tell you, I have to go bye!" she hung up on him, Francis feeling his face twitch. Now he knew why Gilbert always yelled at her...

An hour later, in the next room over Maddie woke up feeling a lot better than yesterday. She finally had gotten enough sleep even though the jet lag still kind of lingered. But she felt way better. The morning started early for her as she put on a white fluffy robe that her friend had hung on the door. She fixed her short hair, humming to herself in the bathroom as she got ready for the day. Her and Francis were going to the Louvre and she was way too excited for it. It was going to be busy but she was not going to let her fear of crowds get the best of her. If she can sit on a plane with crying children and snoring adults for over ten hours, she can handle this.

After a quick shower in her nice expanse shower with two shower heads (it felt like heaven to her) she got dressed in some simple blue skinny jeans and a black t-shirt that Gilbert had left at her house during the summer. He had completely forgotten about it so she put it to good use. It was large on her and kind of draped off her shoulders. The graphic tee had a cartoon frog on it. She asked him why he had such a weird shirt and all he said it was a gag gift from his friend. Still very strange.

Tucking the shirt in to her jeans she found a black jacket, putting it on as she exited the room, walking towards the kitchen where she smelled something delicious. It smelled like eggs and meat. Following the scent she moved to the bar and sat down in the stool that faced her friend. "Are you making omelettes?" she asked.

Francis jumped and swung the spatula in her direction, ready to hit, "What the hell!" he cried, holding his chest. Until he saw who it was and he started waving it at her instead. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?!"

Maddie chuckled into her hand, "I was walking normally."

"Make some noise next time," patting his chest he turned back around to attend to his food.

"I did." she pouted as she leaned across the counter to watch him flip the food in the pan. "You are up early."

"Ah, a friend called me." he said as he pulled the plate closer to the stove and put the food onto it, making sure it didn't spill onto the counter or floor.

"Your phone is always ringing." she smirked, standing up now to grab the plate from Francis when he stared at her in a weird way. She grabbed it cautiously as she rose a brow. "Um, Francis?"

"That shirt…" he started and Maddie looked down at her own shirt, holding the ends and pulled down to show him the full image.

"Isn't it weird? I like it. Plus, its comfortable." The girl dropped her shirt and went to grab a fork from the drawer. Leaving Francis to start thinking. He had seen that shirt before, but where?

"Where did you get it?" he asked as he watched her open multiple drawers, failing each time to find the silverware before finally finding it next to the fridge.

"The boy I told you about left it at my house over the summer." She pulled out two forks and knives then turned around to hand a pair of the utensils to Francis.

"Gil right?" Francis asked as he sat down in the stool next to Maddie's spot that she chose earlier. "Is his real name Gil?"

"No," she looked in the fridge and pulled out an orange juice carton, "His name is Gilbert." she smiled as she searched the cabinets for glasses now.

Francis hummed. How much of this was a coincidence? How many people in this world is named Gilbert, has the nickname Gil, traveled to Canada last summer and owns such a ridiculous t-shirt. "He doesn't happen to be an albino right?" the glass almost slipped out of Maddie's hands. She set it down quick before turning around, a blush on her cheeks.

"How did you know? Did I tell you?" she tried not to stutter but the shock was evident on her face when her college friend asked her that!

Maddie stared at him waiting for a reply. But all he did was get up from his seat and scurried to his room before she could utter a word out. In a few seconds the tall blonde man came out and showed her a t-shirt that he owned. It was black and there was a cartoon bird on it. The same drawing style as the frog on her's. "I think you have a crush on me best friend, mon ami."

The girl could only stare at the shirt he held and then back at the one she wore. It took her a few seconds to process it and all she could say with a dumbfounded look was,

"Huh?"

* * *

"Finally finished!" Collapsing on his bed Gilbert stared at the bags of present around his floor. Shopping in Berlin during the holiday season was the absolute worst! He was sure he saw three fights with women grabbing discounted clothes or what not. It was completely ridiculous. Picking himself back up he grabbed the bags and wrapping paper he bought and started opening them. He needed to get this done before the party or he was going to just put them in plastic bags.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. Setting the paper down he pulled out his phone checking the text he got. Francis was going to be at the Christmas party, huh? It's been awhile since he has seen him. Carmen will be there too and it made him smile. Elizabeta had told him the list of people going to be there. It was so many people but it felt almost kind of sad when he thought of Maddie. If he could pay for her to come here he would. But he was still not the best with money so it was nearly impossible.

Pressing the call button he put the phone to his ear as he continued to unravel the paper, moving to the floor now so that he had room.

"Oui, mon ami?" Francis answered and Gilbert grinned.

"Hey, just checking if that message you sent was a lie? You don't like coming down here." The albino said and Francis only faked laugh.

"Of course I'm coming. I'm traveling down with Eliza and Roderich." Francis huffed. Gilbert heard a loud thud in the background.

"Are...you okay?" Gilbert asked.

Francis pulled the phone from his ear as he gave a look to Maddie, who had hit her head on the counter. She had dropped something on the floor and bent down to pick it up but then she overheard the voice on the phone and heard Gilbert's voice. She shot up in surprise and she hit the top of her head. Now she was on the ground holding it as she cried in pain.

"Are you okay?!" he yelled in French as he jumped off his seat and assisted her, "How did that happen?"

Maddie only pouted as she rubbed her head gently. "That hurt." she whined. Making Francis shake his head.

"I'm fine. My friend hit her head." he said to Gilbert who was waiting for him to reply.

"Oh, is she okay?" he asked and Francis sighed.

"I think so. She is just crying on the floor." he said bluntly. Making Maddie look up with him in hurt.

"Franny, you are the worst when it comes to girls." Gilbert scolded.

"You have no room to talk. Do we have to bring up that one girl from college when you came to visit me?" he said. "You treated her so nicely and then stuck her on the back burner when you found out she had a boyfriend."

"Huh? I don't remember that! She was probably just drunk and couldn't tell her left foot from her right."

"Dignity my ass, you kissed-" then he cut himself off when Maddie stood up and he stared at her gawked. "Oh Mon Dieu."

"What? Spit it out Franny. What's wrong?"

Francis had completely forgotten. "Hey, Gilbert I have to go."

Gilbert yelled at him and the phone call ended in mid sentence. The French man watched Maddie walk into the kitchen again to replace the fork she dropped earlier and he could not believe he had forgotten about it.

"I can't believe it." he breathed and Maddie turned to him.

"What's wrong? Did Gilbert say something?" She asked rather nervously.

"Ah, no. It's just… I remembered something. Nothing too serious." He smiled as he stood up, grabbing his plate and walking over to the sink. Placing it in he walked by Maddie, smiling and ruffled her hair. "I'll go change and then we can leave. I'll be right back." he winked and jogged to his room.

The girl blinked and she couldn't help but smile. That was weird.

* * *

Francis only took about ten minutes to change and fix his hair. Taking a little bit more time he had found his old laptop from the bottom drawer of his dresser. He had meant to pull the pictures from it but he kept forgetting about it. Plugging it up to the charger he sat down on his made up bed and turned it on. After a moment of waiting the screen finally popped up. He forgot how slow it was when he started looking through his pictures. Arranging by date he went back around sophomore year where he was looking through the pictures.

Gilbert had come to visit him in college since he was traveling around the U.S. in an apprenticeship for photography. He was in New York for a few days until they headed back to Germany so he dropped by. They went to a party together before he had to leave for the airport that morning.

Francis found the picture he had completely forgotten about. It was blurry since it was taken with a crappy phone. Plus Francis was drunk so he wasn't really concentrating well. The frat house was in the background and right there on the front steps were his friends. A smiling cute blonde who was completely lost to her drunkenness and an albino who was most likely on his sixth crappy college beer. They were close and the boy was kissing her cheek as he had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. He could see a glimpse of a brown hair man in the shot and he assumed it was Louis coming in to apprehend his then girlfriend.

Gilbert and Maddie have met each other before and he totally forgot about it. And they had too.


	22. First Snow and Heaven (part 2)

**\- Chapter 22 -**

_**First Snow** _

_I hope you will be standing there_   
_Memories with you are like a picture_   
_A day that was like a present I've waited for a long time_   
_After a long time passes, I'll reach you_   
_You are the first snow in my heart_

The plane ride a was a quiet one, Francis sat next to the window staring out into dark stormy sky as he listened to an audio book that he probably had to start over since he was not really concentrating on it. He just needed it as background noise. His mind was elsewhere as he thought about the past few days with him and Madeline catching up, the surprising realization that his sweet Canadian friend likes his long time brash friend Gilbert, and the more unbelievable fact that he had introduced them before during college.

It's so strange. And it felt almost scripted. Two strangers met one night at a college party and never see each other again. Until one day, the boy goes on vacation to Canada and happens to run into the girl. At this point, they have completely forgotten each other since that night many years ago. Now they like each other...again. He really couldn't figure out how in the world this happened.

Shaking his head he looked over to the seat across the aisle. Madeline was sleeping in her seat with a half opened book in her lap. She had passed out as soon as they took off since it was early morning when they left Paris. He wanted to ask her if she remembered. But she was probably too preoccupied with fighting with Louis. He had recalled the couple fighting the night of the party. Louis did not want her to go and Madeline said she was going, leading to bickering. So she got hammered and met Gilbert.

And if he recalled correctly, Gilbert was absolutely smitten by her. Completely enticed.

Memories filled his head as he thought back to it again. Perhaps he should have hooked them up then. Maybe Louis would have never been a problem.

Getting comfortable in his seat he looked at phone resting on his tray. Two more hours until they land in Berlin. It felt too soon.

* * *

"It has to be perfect!" Feliciano ran around the large house him and Ludwig shared, fixing the Christmas decorations in the living room and hallway. The living room was a nice blend of warm inviting colors and dark furniture. Cherry hardwood flooring covered in Spanish style rugs, woven blankets on the brown leather couch and maroon and burnt orange chairs, a fire roaring in the stone fireplace, lighting up the many themed knick knacks that lined the mantle and right next to it was a big tree which almost touched the high vaulted ceiling.

The Italian boy had just put a few presents under the tree when Ludwig walked in.

"Feli, everyone will be here soon." The blonde German was holding a couple of presents in his hands as he walked over to his partner, handing them to him so that he could put them under as well.

"Si, si! I'm very excited!" He had pushed the rest in and Ludwig held out his hands, helping the man off of the ground. "I cannot wait for Maddie to come!"

Feliciano was not the best at keeping secrets. He had accidentally blurted it out a couple of days ago after having a casual dinner with his boyfriend. Luckily it was Ludwig and not Gilbert who heard it, because the albino was present at the time as well, but he was too distracted with talking to Madeline that he didn't hear the surprise.

Smiling small, Ludwig pressed a small kiss on his forehead as he held Feli's tiny hands in his large palms. "I thought you would be more nervous." he started and Feli cocked his head in confusion, until he felt the man's thumb on his finger. Making him look down at the gold ring on his left hand.

"More excited than nervous." He admitted as he looked at the matching ring on Ludwig's hand. It wasn't an extravagant proposal, he could say. They had gone out to grocery shop earlier for tonight's meal and it was so out of the blue when Ludwig popped the question casually. But the blonde was so nervous that it came out kind of rough sounding, making Feliciano laugh instead of the usual sobbing when it came to being asked to be married to the one you love. Especially when the man was holding a giant radish in his hand instead of a ring. "You couldn't wait to ask me." Feliciano chuckled as Ludwig blushed pink.

Instead of rebutting in embarrassment, he settled for another quick kiss on Feli's lips before he rushed back to the kitchen. All Feliciano could do was smile lovingly at the retreating figure before glancing at the ring on his finger. They have come a long way since meeting each other those many years ago and now they have many more together in the future to come.

The doorbell made him jump out of his thoughts and he bounded over to the door with a slight skip in his walking. The party is about to begin!

* * *

"Plane seats are so stiff!" Francis stretched his arms over his head as he and his lovely companion waited on their ride outside, him sitting on his large suitcase while Madeline resorted to sitting on the ground next to her's, using it as a arm rest as she lazily read her book. It was getting to a good part and she didn't feel like stopping. So she continued, ignoring Francis as he rambled about the cold, frosty weather and how he missed his warm condo.

To be honest, she was just trying to take her mind off of what was going to happen tonight at the party. If all goes well, she and Gilbert will finally start dating. Which she was so nervous about that she wanted a fly back to America. But it was expensive. Plus, she had people rooting for her, so she will not let them down by chickening out at the last minute. It seems like she was making excuses again.

Not this time. She will follow through and get a boyfriend. It's time to move on!

Giving herself some mental encouragement, her moment was rudely interrupted by a car horn blaring as it rolled by, which made her jump in her spot. Great, now her concentration was broken.

Peering up, her eyes widened when a sleek black mercedes rolled up to the curb next to her. Francis had grabbed his luggage, moving to the car and Maddie was still trying to wrap it around her head that she was going to be riding in this expensive car. It cost more than her life most likely!

The driver's door opened and stepped out a man in a dark navy blue suit that most people would look ugly in. But it was pristine and cut to fit his body. He had dark brown hair and a pair of wired frames on the tip of his nose, that he pushed up when he stared down at her. This man screamed money! And he looked somewhat familiar as well.

"Madeline Williams, correct?" he had similar purple eyes but his were sharp. Maddie gulped at the intimidating aura this man showcased but was easily deterred when a woman came on the sidewalk. One that she knew instantly.

"Maddie~" Right on cue to save her, her great model friend Elizabeta stepped around the man and helped the Canadian girl off of the ground. She matched the man beside her with a dark blue sweetheart neckline dress that was covered with a long white jacket that circled around her calves, a belt loosely tying the jacket around her tiny waist, "How was your flight? Did Francis bother you too much?"

"She slept the whole way." Francis intervened as the suitcase from beside the girl disappeared. He had grabbed it and put it in the trunk with his own, slamming it closed with a simple flick of the wrist.

Elizabeta showed a sweet smile to Maddie as she tugged her to the car, "Are you ready for tonight?"

"U-uh, not really." Letting out a nervous laugh, she was directed to the back, where the man in the blue suit opened the door for her. Which she gave a quick nod to.

"Don't worry! Franny and I will help you out!" Elizabeta said, "Let's go shopping!"

"Huh?" But that's all Maddie could manage before the door was shut on her, the others getting into the car and they drove out of the terminal. Leaving Maddie a mess as she tried to figure out what was exactly going through the head of Elizabeta.

* * *

Gilbert had arrived at his brother's place a few minutes later than he wanted. He was too caught up with choosing what beer he wanted to bring so since he was too indecisive, he had two cases of two different beers under his arm as he entered the house. "Luddy!" Gilbert yelled, closing the door with his foot as he walked to the kitchen. There were a couple of people he knew already lingering in the living room when he passed. Lovino was on the couch with Carmen, the girl openly flirting with the red Italian man, very loudly and she clung onto him with all of her might. Gilbert snickered when he saw that, walking into the kitchen and dropping the drinks on the counter before opening the fridge.

"You're late." Ludwig's voice sounded from behind him and Gilbert gave his younger brother a pout.

"But Luddy, I couldn't decide what I wanted." He grabbed the cases and slid them into the fridge after making a quick spot for them, "there were too many choices."

"Don't get too drunk. I know you and Elizabeta." he said in a serious tone, making his older brother snicker again as he stood up and closed the door after retrieving one of the beers from the cardboard holder.

"Relax. If we end up drinking, it will be her fault." Gilbert smacked his brother's shoulder as he moved past him. Which only made Ludwig sigh in response.

The two made their way into the living room where Feliciano had seated himself next to his brother, who was still trying to not explode from the closeness of Carmen.

"Hey, Carmen," Gilbert stood beside the couch with a knowing smirk, "You might end up killing him if you hold his arm any longer." He snickered as the Spanish girl flashed him a grin before she stood up.

"You think you are so funny, Gil." she nudged him with her elbow as he laughed some more. From the corner of his eye he noticed a tall man walk into the room as well and he let out a low whistle.

"I forgot how hot you were." He grinned at his editor Matthias stopped next to him and Carmen. He was wearing a maroon color button down that was popped open at the top and simple black slacks that he held up with a belt. The man had dusty spiked blonde hair and bright blue eyes, almost as bright as Ludwig's, but sometimes they couldn't be seen due to use of happiness drugs.

"Took you long enough. I have been here half an hour already." he said with a thick accent. Everyone was speaking English to each other since it was the only language they had in common so sometimes it was hard to understand one another.

"It is okay. Everyone will be here soon." Carmen said as the doorbell rang again and Feli was already heading to the door without missing a beat, letting in two asian men that none of them have seen before.

"Everyone, this is Honda Kiku and Im Yong Soo. They are my coworkers~" He introduced them to every person and he took the bags from Kiku, who was trying to stop him but he insisted as he walked off towards the kitchen. Both men joined the others in the living room, Yong Soo easily starting a conversation with Carmen, making Lovino jump and try to intervene.

"You are Gilbert?" the accent was almost as incomprehensible as Matthias, but the man could still make out what the small Japanese man was saying.

"Yeah, I'm the awesome Gilbert, at your service." he grinned, making Matthias shake his head.

Kiku blushed brightly as if embarrassed but he continued, "Y-yes, I watch your videos." he said while fiddling with his fingers.

"Poor guy," Lovino butted in and Gilbert growled at him.

"No no, I like them." Kiku quickly retorted, "I was wondering, if possible, that you can help our company out with international expansion? Perhaps we can do photo editing classes and use your photos as examples?"

Gilbert blinked at the proposal. It didn't sound like a bad idea. And he can probably earn some money while doing so through ads and sponsorship. Then he can save enough money to go visit Maddie!

"Say no more." Throwing his arm around Kiku he dragged the stuttering man to the couch, "We gotta get to talking." Matthias could only watch as the poor Japanese man was now in the latches of the albino man. He couldn't help him now. So he left the living room, wondering if there were snacks to be taken and eaten as the others were talking or yelling at each other. Tonight was going to be long.

* * *

The party had been going on for an hour by the time there was another doorbell that echoed through the hall. Pulling away from the festivities, Carmen had decided she would answer the door since she was the closest one to it. She pulled it open and she almost gasped. There in a dark suit that contrasted his bright blonde hair, Francis was holding out a bottle wine.

"Franny!" she grinned, squealing as she jumped into the french man's awaiting arms. The man let out a laugh as he hugged her back.

"Ma belle ami! I missed you so much!" he smiled as he held onto her as he stepped inside to escape the cold breeze.

"Carmen, it's so good to see you!" Elizabeta came up behind the man with a couple of presents in her arms as her husband Roderich stood behind her with a bag full of them. When the Spanish girl was placed on the ground she immediately attacked Elizabeta with a forceful glomp that made the girl almost fall. Luckily Roderich placed his arm on her back to prevent it.

"It's so good to see you!" she cheered as she let go of the petite woman and then attacked the man who almost stuttered in shock when she hugged him tight. All his wife did was laugh behind her hand as he was suffering from the close contact.

Carmen jumped down and was about to twirl inside when she noticed a smaller woman standing behind Roderich. Moving to where she could see, Carmen smiled wide. "Oh, how cute! Are you friends with Liz?" she gushed.

"Of course. She is also Gilbert's present." she smirked and the Spanish lady's face lit up as bright as a Christmas light.

"Oh, oh. He's going to be so excited!" she squealed as she ran inside. Elizabeta glanced over to Maddie who she had personally dressed for this occasion. She was going to be very disappointed if Gilbert didn't faint.

"Hey Franny!" Gilbert had greeted the French man who walked in after taking his jacket off. "You are late!" he grinned as the blonde handed over the wine bottle to Feliciano, who took it the kitchen.

"Everyone else is simply early." he sheepishly smiled back. "Liz is here too." he said.

"With my favorite pal Roddy!" Grinning the man jumped up to go see them but his collar was easily snatched, making him almost fall and it grabbed people's attention, "What the hell!"

"Be patient mon ami. You're present is not wrapped." Francis wagged his finger at the pouting albino.

"Huh?" He rose a brow but he reluctantly drew back and crossed his arms. "Fine."

"Merry Christmas!" In came in the exuberant Hungarian woman, the group saying hello as she easily joined in to conversation. Roderich had greeted Ludwig almost immediately before he was tackled by the albino, already trying to place the man into a choke hold. Then the two started to argue back and forth. But everyone ignored them since it was a usual occurrence. Except for Yong Soo who was encouraging the behavior and poor Kiku, who was trying hard to stop them with his meek voice and frantic gestures.

"It's no use." Francis smiled to the poor Japanese man. "There is only one person who can stop him in his rampant." he said in a mysterious way, making Kiku raise an elegant brow at.

Maddie stood behind the wall that separated her from Gilbert, nervously playing with hem of her dark brown sweater dress. The sweat forming on her palm made her hands extra clammy that she ended up wiping it away on her nude tights. Taking her third deep breath, she peered up to see _his_  reflection in one of the picture frames. It had been so long since she had seen him! And he had become more handsome than before. How was that possible!

The noise was getting louder and she almost jumped when she saw Roderich and Gilbert going at it from her spot. Does he not like him, she thought to herself as she wiped away the sweat on her jacket. She couldn't tell if they were playing around or were they really going to pummel each other to the floor and wrestle it out? At this point she really could not tell.

"If you don't stop I'm keeping your present!" Elizabeta yelled. Which in return, Gilbert snorted.

"It's probably some stupid mug that you thought was hilarious. Or some atrocious hot pink sweater with a poodle on it." Gilbert retorted just as fast and all Maddie could do was hold back her laughter. It seems the model was not the best at gift shopping either.

"Huh?! You liked those!" she stomped her foot and Francis came into view now.

"Now, now. We can't keep the present waiting, non?" he held out his hand behind the wall and Maddie stared at it. He wanted her to grab it! He glanced at her and showed a reassuring smile before looking back into the room, to look at Gilbert, "I brought my friend from college along." He smiled.

"You're friend?" the albino rose a brow. Now why didn't he mention that he was bringing another person to the party? "The other Liz?" he shuddered.

"Ah, she might be too sweet to be Liz. But you'll like her." After a moment of relaxing, she was ready. Maddie took a deep breath and slowly reached out to place her hand in his. Which he grasped gently.

"Uh huh." Gilbert didn't believe him for a split second.

Without much left to do, the man cleared his throat and smirked, "This is my friend Madeline!" He tugged her arm and Maddie stepped into view of the other patrons with a small nervous smile on her lips. "Isn't she adorable?"

"Maddie!" Feliciano cheered as he tried to go hug her. Ludwig acted fast and was able to grab his his collar before he did but it didn't stop the man from flailing his arms out.

On the other hand, Gilbert was gaping wide. He knew he was. Those beautiful lavender eyes locked on him and he could barely keep the excitement built up in him any longer. "Hey chickadee." man, saying it face to face felt almost idealistic at this point. But when she smiled and gave a shy wave he knew it wasn't fake. She was here. With him. In Berlin.

"Eh? What kind of reaction was that! I wanted you to faint-" Elizabeta was cut off when Gilbert rushed forward, surprising her at his quick movement. Francis let go of Maddie's hand as the albino wrapped his arms around her. Maddie felt her face heat up at the sudden contact but when she peered up to see the man's glowing smile it immediately dissipated. The nervousness left and her stomach started feeling warm at his beautiful expression. Her arms wrapped around his waist when he was resting against the top of her head. Relishing the moment of finally seeing him again.

"Hello Mr. Sexy." she quietly chuckled at herself, Gilbert tightening his hold on her.

"God I missed you." He pulled back to look at her, "We have a lot to talk about. Like you lying to me about where you've been for the last week." his lips turned into a childish pout and the girl laughed.

"It wasn't going to be a surprise if I told you everything." she smiled small. Her hand touched his warm cheek and said, "I have so much to talk about with you as well."

He leaned into her touch, his hand covering her's to hold it close to him. "I'm here all night." he wiggled his eyebrows playfully and she giggled. The two lost in their little world as the rest of the party just stared at them. Feliciano. of course, was jumping in his spot as he held onto his fiance. Babbling about how cute it was as Ludwig listened with a minuscule of a smile on his lips. Matthias lazily sat on the couch eating a cannoli, hiding his proud smile as he looked away from it.

"How romantic!" Carmen held her face as she watched them, blushing bright while she wiggled in her spot next to Lovino, who was completely taken aback by what happened just now.

"T-that's her! She must be crazy too." Lovino clicked his tongue as he shoved his hands in his pocket. She had to be to like a guy like Gilbert! He was completely bonkers!

Carmen sighed dreamily as she suddenly grabbed the Italian's arm, pressing up against his side as he jumped. "Let's date and you can hold me like that too~" she threw him a seductive smile and his face blew up dark red. Making her chuckle, But she didn't let go.

Francis and Elizabeta looked at each other with wide grins and gave each other a high five. "We are such cool friends." The woman smiled.

"Oui, we are the best." he looked back at the two hugging in the hall entrance. "Oh, that's right." he almost forgot to bring up the most important part of this reunion. "You little lovebirds~" he called to Gilbert and Maddie, who looked at him now. "I have something to show you." he pulled out his phone from his pocket and started to peruse through it while Maddie grabbed Gilbert's hand and walked him over to him.

Feliciano took this chance to give Maddie a quick tight hug before moving back with Ludwig, smiling at the two as he leaned against the broad man.

"Okay, you two. What if I told you that you have met before?" Francis started and Gilbert rose a brow.

"Yeah, duh." he rolled his eyes. But his friend simply flipped the phone over and shoved it into the man's face.

"What did I say earlier? She's my college friend. Col-lege. more than five years ago." he said. The two stared at what Francis presented to them. It was an outdated photo for sure. But to them it looked oddly familiar.

"That's the football frat house...right?" The girl was trying to wrap her head around it. It was a party. Last semester as a freshman and had only started dating Louis probably a month prior. She had forgotten about it. All she could recollect was the hangover she had the next morning from drinking way too much. It was one of the reasons she stopped drinking all together.

Leaning in she saw herself. Look how youthful she used to be, she thought to herself as she looked to the company beside her. That...was not Louis. "Eh...it can't be."

"Oui, Gilbert came to visit me during college when he was touring the US." he said. Now everyone was completely invested, even Matthias now as he stood up. Behind the couple stood everyone who was way too curious for their own good. "We went to go party at Lee's house and you met each other."

Gilbert was completely dumbstruck. His eyes wavered slightly as he looked in between the photo and the gorgeous woman that was so close to him.

"What…" he almost choked on those words as the memory came flooding back to him.

_The frat party was loud, smelled like piss, and Gilbert was ready to get the hell out of there after a football prick tried to start a fight with him because he looked weird. He was about to head out of the yard when he noticed a girl sitting on the steps. A red solo cup was at her feet as she rested her head in between her knees. Unlike the other girls around who wore skimpy bras and ridiculous cutting-off-blood-circulation shorts, this girl was wearing a jean jacket and long white dress that covered her bare feet. Then he realized her heels were right next to her on the other side._

_"Hey are you okay?" he asked when he stopped by her. The girl looked up and he was shocked to see bright violet orbs staring into him. At that moment, his breathing stop. He had seen violet eyes before but these were so much more tantalizing and beautiful. Nothing like he has ever seen before. The lights of the house illuminated her stained red cheeks and he found himself matching her color. Who is this girl! His heart started to hammer in his ears and it was almost deafening. Luckily he saw the girl's lips move and he finally calmed down enough to hear what she was trying to say._

_"I'm fine." she managed to smile as she rose up to a proper sitting position, her shoulder length honey locks spilling over her shoulders. Gilbert would be lying if he said he didn't want to tangle his fingers through the long strands. "The music is just loud."_

_She was about to stand up when Gilbert did something he never thought he would do. He unconsciously sat right next to her, which surprised himself and her. They almost jumped up in surprise at the sudden company but they were now too embarrassed to move. They sat staring at each other for what felt like hours. Purple clashing with red. Both unique in their own ways. One in white. One in black. It's as if a devil is trying to coerce an angel._

_Gilbert snapped out of it hard, hitting himself in the head and the girl held her chest as she watched with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked and he almost cursed at how utterly cute she sounded._

_"Yeah," he grinned, turning to his liquid courage to give him a boost of confidence that he knew he had but was failing to remember how to use it at this very moment."Where are your friends?" He asked, breaking the eye contact as he looked around the large littered yard. Not many people were out in the front with them. Mostly everyone was inside or in the backyard hanging by the pool. So, except a few stragglers who were too doped out to care, they were the only ones._

_"I know where one is. He's hitting on the quarterback." she smirked. "He usually wins in the end. So he'll be out here whenever he's done."_

_So there was another guy roaming around preying on people? He should tell Francis later about it. If he ever did find the bastard that abandoned him._

_"I'm by myself too." He started as he took a gulp of his beer, "I was abandoned." he scoffed under his breath and he felt her eyes on him, making him more nervous. Keep it together man! You've had girlfriends and a few boyfriends so this should not be anything new to you!_

_He met her gaze and he wondered, why is this different? She looks like a normal girl who came to a party at her college. But maybe this, her sitting by herself when she could easily capture guys in a blink of an eye, is what's different. She's not flaunting and showing out. All she is doing is sitting out here away from the crowd. Casually drinking a beer and staying away from the bad techno rave music. Perhaps that's why he decided to sit down next to her. Because she's not part of the crowd._

_"I'm Gilbert." He smirked as he held up his disgusting Budweiser in an almost toast like fashion. "What's yours?"_

_The girl blinked. "I'm Madeline. My friends call me Maddie." She rose up her red cup from the ground and clinked it against the bottle in the man's hand._

"Y-you!" Gilbert felt himself stuttering, "How the hell did I forget about you?!" he wanted to beat himself senseless! It may have been more than a decade but he would have at least remembered her!

"I can answer that one" Francis smiled as he pulled the phone away. "See this brown blur right here?" the French man pointed at the photo, "This is Louis. Her boyfriend at the time. And what were you doing to my poor sweet innocent angel, hm?"

"He's obviously kissing her cheek." Elizabeta joined in with a grin.

Francis showed off an innocent smile, "He punched you so hard that you saw Mother Mary for the rest of the night."

Maddie winced at that description. "And I was intoxicated so of course I didn't remember"

"Oui. Well, now that is your other present." He locked his phone and put it away. "I'm ready for some wine!" he grinned.

Feliciano clapped his hands together, "Everyone sit down, I'll bring out more drinks and food! Luddy, can you help me?" he asked the tall man, who grunted and moved away to the kitchen. When they did the group dispersed to their original places, each of them introducing themselves to Maddie before they did. Finally being left alone, Maddie turned to Gilbert, intertwining her fingers gently with his unconsciously. The two looked at each other, ignoring everything that was happening around them. The smiles still in place as their hold tightened.

Bliss filled Maddie's body. She felt so free now with Gilbert by her side. No more running away. This is it. Her change of scenery is here, next to him.

* * *

**\- Epilogue -**

**HEAVEN (pt 2)**

A phone started to ring through out a small house. The sun shone through the sheer curtains as a woman sat on her fluffy comforter, smiling while she reached out to the loud contraption on her bedside table.

She pulled the cover her legs and answered. "Hello?" she questioned with a happy voice.

"Good morning, Maddie!" exclaimed a voice from the speaker making her pull back with a jolt. She really should be used to that by now but it never ceases to amaze her at how loud her brother is.

"Good morning Al." She greeted as she rested against her giant pillow that was placed against her back.

"Oh you're up early today!" he said. "I am still trying to get this time difference down. It is 8 o'clock right?"

"Yes," she smiled. "You never miss a beat with that." she chuckled. "But that makes it 2 in the morning over there. Shouldn't you be heading to sleep?" she asked as she got comfortable.

"Yeah I will be. I just wanted to wish you a happy 26th birthday!" he cheered and the girl looked at the small flip calendar on her desk across the room. July 1st. Her birthday has come around once again and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you Al." Maddie pushed her bangs out of her face. "My present for you should be there either the 3rd or on your birthday." Listening to the sounds of talking in the other room, she decided she was going to get up and get dressed for the day. So she did, moving out of the bed and swiftly pulling the covers up to make up the bed. After fluffing out her pillow again she walked over to the bathroom. "What did Arthur get you?"

"Ah he won't tell me. But it has to do with a weekend vacation of some sort." her brother sighed in frustration.

"How cute. Whatever you two plan on doing, you better have fun!" Picking up her toothbrush, she placed the phone in the crook of her neck and squirted on the toothpaste before turning the faucet on and brushing her teeth.

"Don't worry. I will!" he exclaimed. "What about you? What are you doing today?" he asked. Maddie held the phone away as she spit out in to the sink.

"Hm, I'm not sure yet." she rinsed her toothbrush and continued to clean her teeth.

"Well, Liz told me you were both heading to South Korea next week for a shoot." Alfred mentioned and the girl smiled.

"Yes! I am very excited. He's going to take the pictures and I will interview the model and write about it for a magazine. It's a nice set up." finishing up her morning routine rather quickly, Maddie moved out of the bathroom and grabbed one of the robes that was hanging on the door as she passed.

"You'll vlog about it right? I need a video about it!" he demanded and she could only laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I will do that for sure." Opening the door she exited her large bedroom, "Now you need to go to sleep. Message me when you wake up."

"Okay fine. Have a good day Maddie! I'll talk to you later. Love you!"

"Alright love you, bye." she ended the call. The hallway was bright due to all of the curtains being opened up. She felt the warm breeze from the doorway to the living room that she assumed the front door was left open. Summer's in Berlin were really beautiful. Well, they weren't exactly in Berlin. They lived in a small suburb away from the city. The sky was exceptionally blue today and she could see why the house was all open and welcoming.

Walking into the living room she noticed that the radio was on and some acoustic music was playing out of it. How calming, the girl walked across the hardwood floor towards the kitchen where she saw a busy body moving around with a phone attached to its ear. Making her chuckle.

"Yes yes, we aren't going to miss it. We will be back in time for the wedding." Throwing a few peppers into the omelette he was making, Gilbert switched the phone to his other ear since his neck was starting to hurt from keeping it in one position for so long. He was flipping the egg over and Maddie noticed the breakfast spread that was already across the table. Pancakes, bratwursts, toast and bagels, jam, milk, orange juice, and an omelette without peppers already made. "Huh? Of course she's my plus one. Why'd you ask that?" he groaned as he gripped the handle and concentrated on getting the omelette onto the plate without spilling it. "I mean, I can add Francis as my plus two, but he got himself a boyfriend the last time I saw him." he sheepishly grinned. Maddie shook her head as she grabbed the glass on the table and poured her orange juice. Then she noticed the coffee pot that was full and sighed. Sweet nectar of life. Moving to the counter, she grabbed a cute baby blue mug with a polar bear on it and poured herself a cup. "Yeah, I'll call you back. Bye." the call ended and Gilbert turned around with the plate in his hand.

If Maddie did not decide to go to Ludwig and Feli's Christmas party last year then she would not be with Gilbert right now. That night, she told him everything in that small guest bedroom, huddled in a blanket and drinking wine and beer. She explained why she stopped talking to him, how Liz and her brother helped her be motivated to do things, and that he, Gilbert Beilschmidt, was the only man she has ever felt this way for.

She thanked him for saving her, emotionally and mentally, and also physically at the very beginning. Their talk lasted all the way into the morning and they talked about worries many others did not know about. Family problems, their emotional instability when it comes down to the wire, and past relationships. All Gilbert said about Louis was that if he ever saw him, he would repay him with a clean punch in the throat and watch him squirm. Which satisfied Maddie enough.

Only two months later, after returning back home, did she pack up her belongings and move to Germany. Her brother was of course sad but extremely proud of her for making her choice. Now he had an excuse to travel Europe now, was what he said as he balled his eyes out. Arthur, being the reasonable one, wished her luck and she was off.

Her blog took off more after she transitioned into Berlin and she had decided, after some thought, that she would work with Gilbert. Writing articles for his photographs and scripts for his videos. She even helped Matthias out when he was behind on editing.

When Gilbert announced (to the world mind you) that Maddie was his girlfriend when she first moved in with him, it had become hectic in a good way. Sponsorships galore! She laughed every time she or Gilbert got one. But at the same time she was grateful since they got to travel a lot. And since it was her job now, she got paid to write. It made her giddy and she loved her job even more since she could do whatever she wanted.

And it was all thanks to her lovely boyfriend that she has the opportunity to do this.

"Did you sleep well?" he handed her the plate as she was sipping her coffee. Maddie placed it down along with the food onto the table before turning back to him.

"I slept very good." her arm stretched out towards him and Gilbert stepped up to her and held her hand gently as he leaned down. Placing a long, deep kiss on her awaiting lips. Every single time, her knees buckled and it always felt like the first time. His sweet tender kisses always made her feel like she was floating. Heavenly, magical, and eternal bliss. "What about you?" she mumbled against his lips as she almost whined when he pulled away.

"I couldn't sleep. I was too excited about our plans today." he admitted. Touched her shoulders he turned her around and pulled out her seat. "We have a lot to eat." Gilbert moved around to his spot now and sat in front of the pepper less omelette. Grabbing the pitcher of milk.

"Are you going to tell me?" Maddie began to prep her toast with the jam as she watched him.

"Not right now." he snickered and the girl lightly kicked his leg under the table as she pouted, earning her another laugh from him. "Come on, let's eat." Gilbert passed her a stack of pancakes and she let out a small huff before accepting it, the two sharing small conversation as they ate. The music played in the background creating a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere as they chatted.

Madeline Williams was now happy. She had a loving family, friends, and a supportive boyfriend. And if it wasn't for them, she would be a lonely woman in Quebec right now. Eating chinese on the couch, watching hockey, and wallowing over her stupid ex.

Instead, she was eating a delicious breakfast that was made specially for her, in Germany, doing what she loves for a living, and having the best time of her life with her Mr. Sexy by her side.

She was content.

She was filled with love.

And she could not wait for what was to come.

Their relationship was only the beginning.

_Heaven is in your eyes_   
_Heaven is in your sound_   
_To me, it's in all of the world that you see_   
_Heaven is in your kiss_   
_even though tears fall down_   
_The only one under this sky_   
_To make me smile_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a long journey! I want to thank everyone who believed in me! All the reviews, favorites, and follows made my heart very happy. Although this chapter would have been up sooner, I had been in a slump and decided to take a break for personal health reasons. But I am finally finished and I really hope you all enjoyed it! See you all next time!
> 
> ~melody


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